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Boston, MA

Wu’s property tax plan stirs debate over what’s best for Boston – The Boston Globe

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Wu’s property tax plan stirs debate over what’s best for Boston – The Boston Globe


Mayor rightly seeks to protect city residents from a hard tax hit

Running the City of Boston has never been an easy job, at least during the more than 50 years I have lived in Massachusetts. In a state that makes cities reliant on property taxes to deliver basic services, Boston is now faced with the same declining commercial property values affecting other urban centers around the world.

But as far as I can see, those who claim the city has a revenue problem have it wrong (“Wu’s tiff with the Senate president accomplishes nothing,” Editorial, Aug. 14). The Wu administration is planning to collect the same amount of revenue and include the same standard 2.5 percent annual increase that the city has collected under previous mayors for decades. But to account for the post-pandemic hit to commercial values, Mayor Michelle Wu has responded to protect city residents. Instead of allowing homeowners to pick up all the slack from those declining office values with drastically higher taxes, or making deep cuts to city services, she has called for a compromise plan that would temporarily shift some of those tax obligations to commercial properties while phasing in small increases in residential tax rates over the next three years.

As a Boston taxpayer, I view this as a reasonable plan that makes everyone share the cost of keeping Boston a safe, clean, vibrant city with well-funded schools and services. As an economist and urban policy academic with a long association with Boston College, the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Northeastern University, and as a longtime adviser to business and civic leaders, I’ve always believed that our city thrives when we work together and ensure we have the revenue we need to keep Boston strong and to contribute to our Commonwealth.

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Barry Bluestone

Boston

The writer is professor emeritus of public policy and urban affairs and the Russell B. and Andree B. Stearns Trustee Professor emeritus of Political Economy at Northeastern University.

In its Aug. 14 editorial, “Wu’s tiff with the Senate president accomplishes nothing,” the Globe takes a disappointing view of the tax classification issue. I am glad Mayor Michelle Wu is trying to protect homeowners like me from a tax shock if there are wild swings in commercial property value over the next few years. Big-money interests shouldn’t control our politicians.

Shirley Jones

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Dorchester

Shifting burden onto business would have far-reaching consequences

As a concerned resident of the Commonwealth, and as a former Barnstable County commissioner, I am alarmed by Mayor Michelle Wu’s proposal for Boston to shift more of the tax burden onto commercial real estate owners. This misguided plan will have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the city limits, harming small businesses, stifling economic growth, and affecting the entire state.

I understand the importance of a thriving capital city to our regional economy. However, Wu’s proposal is not the solution. It would lead to higher rents, reduced investment, and fewer jobs, ultimately hurting the very people it aims to help.

Furthermore, this proposal sets a dangerous precedent for other cities and towns to follow, potentially destabilizing our state’s economy. I urge Wu and the Boston City Council to explore alternative solutions that promote economic growth, support local businesses, and benefit all stakeholders.

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Ronald Beaty

West Barnstable





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Boston, MA

First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather

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First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather


Today is a First Alert weather day. A system to our south is pushing mix of snow and rain into southern New England through this evening and tonight. 

For us here in Greater Boston, expect snow to continue spreading over our area through the afternoon/evening commute. In fact, parts our area could see up to 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation before the sleet and rain move in.

Much of Greater Boston will likely see snow amounts on the lower end. Higher snow amounts are expected toward southern New Hampshire and along and north of outer Route 2. Also, some ice accumulations are possible, up to a tenth of an inch, creating a thin glaze here and there.

Dozens of schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts have already announced early dismissals as a result of the storm.

While this system won’t cripple our area, conditions could still create a mess on the roads during the evening commute through tonight. Be careful while driving. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of our area through early Wednesday morning. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s today. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.

We’ll wake up to patchy fog Wednesday morning before the sun returns. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s. We’ll stay in the 40s on Thursday with increasing clouds. But by late Thursday night into Friday, wet weather returns. Some snow could mix with the rain into Friday morning. Highs will be in the upper 30s Friday.

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Warmer weather is expected this weekend. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and possibly near 60 on Sunday.



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Boston, MA

Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe

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Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe


That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.

High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.

In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.

Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.

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In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.

“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.

When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.

But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.

“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.

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The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.

Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.

Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.

Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.

The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.

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With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.

“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.

The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.

Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.

The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.

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“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”


Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.





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Boston, MA

Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing

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Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing


FORT MYERS, Fla. — Johan Oviedo’s first outing of the spring last week didn’t go great, as the right-hander walked three over 1 2/3 innings in a performance manager Alex Cora described as “erratic.”

His second outing on Monday went much better.



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