Connect with us

Boston, MA

Massachusetts Senate to finally debate Boston Mayor Wu’s contentious tax shift bill

Published

on

Massachusetts Senate to finally debate Boston Mayor Wu’s contentious tax shift bill


Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s stalled tax shift bill will be taken up by the state Senate Thursday for the first time since it was killed there more than a year ago, but this time as an amendment filed for an alternate Senate-led tax relief proposal.

State Sen. Michael Rush, a Boston Democrat, filed an amendment to state Sen. William Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill that mirrors the language included in a home rule petition the mayor has been pushing for nearly two years that would shift more of the city’s tax burden from the residential to commercial sector.

“Property tax relief is a pressing issue for my constituents — and residents throughout the state,” Rush said Monday in a statement to the Herald. “On behalf of the people of Boston, I have filed the home rule petition passed by the Boston City Council to provide property tax relief for Boston residents.

“As the Senate considers several worthy proposals designed to address affordability in the Commonwealth, I am glad this proposal will be part of the discussion,” Rush said.

Advertisement

Wu’s office told the Herald Saturday that the mayor had requested the amendment.

“Every senator has the opportunity to submit amendments related to these bills by Monday, and we have asked Boston’s senators to offer an amendment with our residential tax relief language that has been vetted thoroughly and never received a vote,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement. “We are following closely and hope the final bills will include this needed relief for residents.”

Wu has said her legislation is aimed at lowering the 13% tax hike the average single-family homeowner is projected to face this year. Third-quarter tax bills went out to homeowners earlier this month.

The mayor’s bill seeks to shift more of the city’s tax burden onto commercial property owners, beyond the 175% state limit, for a three-year period.

It is set to be debated, along with several other amendments that have been filed by senators for Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill, at Thursday’s session.

Advertisement

“All amendments filed by members of the Senate will be considered by the full body during our session on Thursday,” a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka’s office said Monday in a statement to the Herald.

A vote is expected on the bill and underlying amendments on the same day, according to state Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat whose alternative tax relief bill and amendments will also be considered.

Collins, who opposes the tax shift element of the mayor’s home rule petition and helped lead the push to kill it on the Senate floor in late 2024, has put forward a bill and amendments that include other elements of what Wu has proposed.

He’s pushing for tax rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners who already receive the residential tax exemption by using surplus funds, along with senior, veterans and small business tax relief provisions.

“I think that the relief measures are positive in terms of the amendments that I and others have filed that are relief in nature or relief options, but I think anything that involves a tax increase is going to be difficult,” Collins told the Herald Monday when asked about the chances for the mayor’s proposal.

Advertisement

“Especially when the city is sitting on $552 million of what they consider to be free cash, it’s hard to make the case that tax increase is necessary,” Collins added.

In a statement issued by his office, Collins added that the city’s decision to hike residential property taxes by double-digits “with so much in the City of Boston’s surplus fund” was “unnecessary, unfair and clearly inequitable.”

“To cancel out that tax increase, my legislation would authorize the city to issue direct rebates to homeowners,” Collins said.

He pointed to a similar approach that he said was taken at the state level in 2022, when the governor and legislature issued rebates after tax revenues exceeded the cap established under voter-approved state law, Chapter 62F, which limits the growth of state tax collections.

In terms of Rush’s amendment, Collins said he’s also concerned that the senator’s language would make the mayor’s tax shift bill applicable statewide, rather than just in Boston.

Advertisement



Source link

Boston, MA

Boston police searching for gunman after ‘juvenile’ shot in Allston – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

Published

on

Boston police searching for gunman after ‘juvenile’ shot in Allston – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


ALLSTON, MASS. (WHDH) – Boston police are searching for a gunman who opened fire in Allston Thursday and left one person hurt.

Police responded to a radio call for a person shot in the area of Brighton Avenue at approximately 6:46 p.m. When officers arrived, they said they found a male “juvenile” suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim’s age has not been released.

Boston police said the shooter fled the scene and remains at large. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston police.

Advertisement

This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Your 2026 Red Sox season primer

Published

on

Your 2026 Red Sox season primer






Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Massachusetts State Police trooper ‘relieved of duty’ after drunken driving arrest in Boston

Published

on

Massachusetts State Police trooper ‘relieved of duty’ after drunken driving arrest in Boston


A State Police trooper who was allegedly found “slumped over” in his car at around 5 a.m. in the South End with an open container of High Noon vodka has been “relieved of duty.”

Mass State Police confirmed to the Herald Wednesday night that Trooper Donovan Preston, 31, arrested for alleged drunken driving in Boston this past weekend, “has been relieved of duty.” Preston’s base pay is listed as $80,213.

A Boston Police report states that police arrived at Herald Street on Saturday to see Preston “stopped in lane 2 of the road” with his brake lights on. The suspect was slumped over “with his eyes closed,” the report adds.

“The officer observed that the car was on and in drive. The officer observed an open container of alcohol (High Noon) in the cupholder,” according to the report. The BPD officer then knocked on the window “for approximately 10 seconds before the suspect lifted his head up.”

Advertisement

Once he picked his head up, police said he appeared “confused and he looked around. The suspect’s vehicle began to roll to which the officer announced, ‘Boston Police. Open the Door.’ ”

Preston stopped on the three-lane, outbound road with his black BMW in the middle of two lanes.

A State Police spokesman said in an email: “Trooper Donovan Preston was relieved of duty and will be subject to a department discipline process.” All other comments were directed toward the police report.

That report, provided to the Herald Wednesday night, added that State Police were notified after Preston’s arrest.

The can of High Noon was logged into the evidence book.

Advertisement

This latest OUI case comes as State Police Sgt. Scott Quigley is being investigated in an alleged drunken driving fatal crash in Woburn in 2023 that killed a disabled passenger in a van.

In the Quigley case, his blood alcohol level reportedly tested at a .114 at the hospital following the crash (the legal limit is .08). That detail came out in a wrongful death suit filed by the victim Angelo Schettino’s family.

‘Unless he’s s###-faced, I’m not worried’: Mass State Police dash cam catches aftermath of deadly cruiser crash [+video]

The smashed van at the Woburn crash scene. (MSP body camera video screengrab)

 

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending