By Adam Swift
There will be a public hearing prior to setting the Fiscal Year 2025 tax rate at the city council’s meeting on Monday, Dec. 2.
The council is expected to take two votes following the public hearing on Dec. 2, one to set the residential exemption for property taxes, and one to determine the split in the tax rates between personal and commercial properties, according to City Manager Fidel Maltez.
“This will allow our team to meet all procedural deadlines ahead of sending tax bills by Dec. 31, 2024,” stated Maltez.
The first required vote is to set the residential exemption as allowed by state law.
“We are recommending that we maintain the 35 percent exemption, the maximum amount allowed by the statute,” said Maltez. “This will provide the fullest possible tax benefit to owner-occupied properties.”
The second required vote under state law is for the city to determine the percentage of the levy that should be borne by each classification of property.
“The city has historically always voted, by virtue of adopting a minimum residential tax factor that results in a 175 percent shift, to transfer to commercial and industrial properties the maximum amount of the tax levy allowed by law,” said Maltez.
He said the city is recommending the same shift again this year.
“If that 175 percent shift is adopted, along with a 35 percent residential exemption, the residential tax rate will likely be $11.48 (pending DOR approval), and the commercial tax rate will be approximately $24.04 (pending DOR approval),” Maltez stated. If those two votes pass, Maltez said it will result in a reduction in the average tax bill for owner-occupants in Chelsea, including condominiums, single family, two-family, and three-family homes.