Boston, MA

Boston Mayor Wu knocks Senate for killing tax shift bill, City Council sets rates

Published

11 months ago

December 11, 2024

Boston Mayor Wu knocks Senate for killing tax shift bill, City Council sets rates

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu took a swipe at the state Senate for killing her plan to hike commercial tax rates, while the City Council swiftly opted to set tax rates based on a conciliatory recommendation from the city’s chief financial officer.

The City Council voted unanimously to set the residential tax rate at $11.58 per $1,000 of value and the commercial tax rate at $25.96 per $1,000 of value, with the maximum shift of the tax burden allowed by state law, or 175%, onto businesses.

The average single-family homeowner will see a year-over-year property tax hike of about 10.5%, and will experience a 21% quarterly hike in their January third-quarter bills, city officials have previously said.

The Council also opted to set the residential exemption at the maximum rate allowed by state law, at 35%, which computes to a roughly $3,984 deduction from a qualifying homeowner’s tax bill.

“This all falls under current state law,” Council Vice President Brian Worrell, chair of the Ways and Means Committee, said at Wednesday’s meeting. “If the state wants to change those laws, this body already has an income-eligible senior tax exemption petition at the State House that can be taken up.

“If they are seeking a way to work on targeted tax relief for homeowners, we also have that; it’s the home rule petition that was just declared dead.”

Worrell was referring to the mayor’s eight-month bid to hike commercial tax rates, which was approved in two iterations by the City Council and House of Representatives.

Wu’s plan died Monday in the Senate, however, upon the city’s release of final state Department of Revenue-certified valuation numbers that showed homeowners would not be hit with the dramatic tax increase the city had originally projected.

“The sky is not falling,” Worrell said at a Council hearing earlier in the day where the administration recommended the later-approved rates, echoing what state Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat said when blocking the mayor’s tax plan for a third and final time on Monday.

Collins on the Senate floor Monday, prior to Senate President Karen Spilka opting to formally kill the mayor’s tax bill, hammered the city for the discrepancy in the less dire final numbers that he said represented a “campaign of fear and manipulation” that was proven to be a “farce.”

Wu hit back on GBH’s Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, accusing the Senate of playing games, and Collins of making “misleading or misinformed” statements.

“We don’t have time at the city level to play games,” Wu said. “I took this process — and many, many residents, seniors, neighborhood leaders, advocates, union workers — took this process very seriously.”

Wu maintained that she had not been aware of the concerns of Collins or other senators ahead of time, saying that those senators did not reach out to her office to share their concerns or try to work with her on addressing them.

She said she was operating under the impression, based on the meeting she had with Spilka, Boston senators and the business groups to restart negotiations after a prior version of the bill stalled in the Senate this past summer, that the instructions that would lead to its passage in that chamber were clear.

“The instruction” from those senators was, Wu said, “work it out with the business groups, and we’re good with that.”

Those talks led to a compromise bill with four business groups who withdrew their opposition contingent upon a lower tax shift onto commercial properties that would result in an annual tax hike for homeowners that was in line with the average increase over the past five years, or about 9%.

Wu’s administration in October released valuation projections that pointed to a 14% annual tax hike for the average homeowner without the legislation, but final certified numbers showed the year-over-year increase if the bill should fail would be in line with the past several years, or about 10%.

The legislation would lead to a lower annual tax hike for homeowners of about 5%, leading senators and the four business groups to back away from the deal.

Wu, for her part, maintained that the final numbers were in line with the range her administration had been projecting and that the higher numbers her team had been citing represented a “worst-case scenario.”

Her chief financial officer, Ashley Groffenberger, insisted that without the legislation and based on the contingency tax rates the administration recommended, homeowners will see a “very, very significant increase in taxes.”

Groffenberger also said there was no time for other options, given the deadline her cabinet and departments were under to send out tax bills this month.

Councilor Erin Murphy, during the day’s Council meeting, had introduced a home rule petition to increase the residential exemption to 40%.

“By increasing the residential exemption, we can offer immediate financial relief, helping to stabilize tax bills and protect them from sudden increases,” Murphy said. “This measure is especially crucial as we continue to face rising housing costs and economic challenges.”

Murphy’s proposal was criticized by a city spokesperson on Tuesday for having the potential to shift more of the tax burden from homeowners onto renters, and was referred to a Council subcommittee for further discussion.

Originally Published: December 11, 2024 at 9:14 PM EST

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Boston, MA

Where can I watch the Celtics tonight? Celtics vs. Wizards tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Published

15 minutes ago

November 5, 2025

Press Room

Where can I watch the Celtics tonight? Celtics vs. Wizards tip off at 7:30 p.m.

Boston will be facing off against Washington tonight.

The Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards will play inside of TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, this evening, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

The Celtics are No. 12 in Eastern Conference standing, with three wins and five losses this season. The Wizards are No. 14 in Eastern Conference and have a season record of one win and six losses.

Celtics star player Jayson Tatum is still sidelined due to his Achilles tendon rupturing in the second round of the NBA playoffs this past summer. That being said, Shams Charania of ESPN said he has not been ruled out this season.

Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Celtics game tonight

You can watch tonight’s game on NBC Sports Boston.

You can also stream it on Fubo.

Watch the Celtics on Fubo!

Can I listen to the Celtics game on radio?

Yes, you can. To listen to Wednesday’s Celtics game on the radio, tune in to 98.5 FM The Sports Hub at the time of tip-off, as 98.5 is the flagship station of the Boston franchise, according to their website.

“Occasionally when scheduling conflicts arise, select games can be heard live on ROCK 92.9,” the Sports Hub website said.

If you live in Providence, you can listen to coverage of the game on WPRV 790 AM.

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown scores 26.8 points per game on average as well as 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists during this season.

Brown also shoots 38.0% behind the arc.

Celtics guard Payton Pritchard scores 15.0 points per game on average as well as 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists so far this season.

Pritchard shoots 21.3% behind the arc.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.

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Boston, MA

Boston Police Blotter: Larceny, assault, drug possession

Published

19 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Press Room

Boston Police Blotter: Larceny, assault, drug possession

The Boston Police Department has asked the public for help identifying an individual involved in a larceny incident at the 776 Boylston St. Lululemon on Sunday at about 4:30 p.m.

The suspect stole approximately $634 in merchandise and was seen at the Lululemon on Newbury Street later about 10 minutes later, police said.

The department encourages anyone with information relating to the incident to contact District D-4 at (617) 343-5619. Anonymous tips may be provided through the CrimeStoppers Tip Line.

The Boston Police Department has asked the public for help identifying the pictured individual. (Boston Police Department)

Incident summary

The Boston Police Department reports that its officers responded to 230 incidents in its summary ending at 10 a.m. Tuesday. Those include five aggravated assaults, four stolen cars and 25 instances of miscellaneous larceny.

Arrests

– Depriest Sims, 45 Chestnut Rd., Avon. Uninsured motor vehicle.

– Hector Colon, 110 George, Roxbury. Warrant.

– Jael Letang, no address listed. Operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

– Ivan Alfaro-Umana, 23 Oceanview St., Winthrop Town. Assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

– Mercy Kiiza, 126 Border St., East Boston. Assault and battery on police officer.

– Lee Matthews, 40 Woolson, Dorchester. Assault and battery on a 60+ or disabled individual.

– Adrian Larkins, 33 Wellington Hill St., Mattapan. Cash on delivery carrier, larceny under $1,200.

– Denise White, 100 Pleasant St., Boston. Cash on delivery carrier, larceny under $1,200.

– Gilberto Roman, 112 Southampton St., Boston. Possession to distribute Class A drug.

– Steven Waites, 112 Southampton St., Roxbury. Warrant, fail/delay service.

– Monique Heard, 120 Attickson, Boston. Assault and battery.

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Boston, MA

Shutdown leading to delays and cancellations across air travel industry

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2025

Press Room

Shutdown leading to delays and cancellations across air travel industry

The government shutdown is continuing to cause trouble in the skies, with delays and cancelations piling up nationwide.

“It’s kind of chaotic over there at LaGuardia, for sure,” said Henry Vo, whose flight into Boston was delayed in New York. “A lot of the government shutdown, a lot of the pilots were saying, and then also, a lot of it’s just things that were happening that were just unfortunate, to say the least.”

In many cases, a shortage of air traffic controllers is to blame. They’ve been working without paychecks during the shutdown, which is putting stress on an already strained system.

Massport says the air traffic control tower at Logan Airport is fully staffed, but the shutdown has impacted staffing at other airports, leading to delays and cancellations.

“They need support, they need money, they need a paycheck,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

Duffy acknowledged the impact on travel, saying it may get worse before it gets better.

“We will slow traffic down, you’ll see delays, we’ll have flights canceled, to make sure the system is safe,” Duffy said.

As the government shutdown continues, the federal government says it will partially fund food assistance after last week’s court rulings.

Aviation experts say the Federal Aviation Administration has strict rules around staffing levels for air traffic controllers to make sure it’s safe to fly.

“Ultimately, what we would hope to see is not safety issues, but just more significant cuts to operations,” said Seth Miller, an aviation journalist and editor at Paxex.Aero. “The FAA says, ‘You know what, we’re going to half capacity because we don’t have enough controllers to support the whole system.’”

When staffing levels drop, the FAA can slow flights or limit arrivals, which can be unpredictable.

“Generally speaking, it’s not an airline issue,” Miller added. “The counterpoint to that is if you have an airline that has a hub at an airport that is affected more often — Delta and JetBlue, for example, here in Boston — if Boston gets more affected, then Delta and JetBlue are going to become more affected.”

The Department of Transportation released recent delay data showing the impact of the ATC shortage. On Friday, 64.8% of total delay minutes were attributed to staffing. On Saturday, it was 59%, and on Sunday, it was 84%.

From January to September before the shutdown, that number was only at 5%.

Despite issues around the country, Logan Airport has been faring well. In an email, Massport said, “We have not seen any operational impacts due to the shutdown. We would advise passengers to check with their airline for the best info on their flight.”

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