By Adam Swift
The city council quickly passed two motions on Monday night that will effectively set the tax rate for Fiscal Year 2026.
As has been the case in past years, the council approved a residential tax exemption of 35 percent for Chelsea homeowners, as well as the minimum residential tax factor for FY26. The minimum residential tax factor, with a 1.75 shift to commercial and industrial properties, places a greater property tax burden on those commercial and industrial properties.
The council held a public hearing on the two motions on Monday night, but there were no takers from the public.
During a presentation to the council last month, Deputy City Manager for Finance Michael Mason stated that with a 35 percent residential exemption, the residential tax rate is expected to be $11.49 per $1,000 of valuation for FY26, a slight decrease from the FY25 rate of $11.51. The commercial tax rate is expected to come in at $23.79 per $1,000, down from the FY25 rate of $24.03.
Although the tax rate is dropping, due to the increase in valuation for properties, it does not necessarily mean that tax bills will be going down.
Mason said there will be moderate to non-existent increases in the property tax bills for residents who own one- to three-family homes and condominiums.
From FY25 to FY26, the average value of single-family homes and condominiums have increased by about 5 percent. Two-family homes have increased on average by 2.6 percent, three-family homes by 8.5 percent, apartment buildings of four-plus units by 5.1 percent, commercial properties by 3 percent, and industrial properties by 4.1 percent.
According to Mason and Chief Assessor Jim Sullivan, the average monthly bill for a single-family homeowner would increase by a little over $10 per month with the residential exemption. The increase for two-family and condo owners would be even lower than that, while the average monthly bill for three-family homeowners would increase by about $50 per month.
In addition to the residential exemption and the tax rate split, there are also a number of exemptions available for senior citizens and disabled veterans.