Council Approves Property Tax Rate for 2008
Residential Property Owners Receive a Break
– Allison Goldsberry
With a soaring housing market over the past few years, residential property owners saw their property tax bills increase on average about $150 each year.
Now, with a slumping housing market cooling off property values and an effort by city officials to stem the increase homeowners see on their bills, the average tax bill for a single family home should only increase by $28 this year.
All residential properties, except for three family homes, declined in value, yet the average commercial property, valued at just over $1 million, increased by $70,000.
The average commercial property tax bill will increase by $2,000, an 11% increase over last year.
Condo owners will see a decrease of nearly $3 on their property tax bill, while two and three-family homeowners will see increases of $12 and $133, respectively.
The average single family home in Medford is valued at $400,300, down from $407,500; the average condo is $289,300, down from $297,100; the average two-family is $490,500, down from $501,800; and the average three-family is $553,500, up from $552,800.
The City Council approved a residential property tax rate of $9.12 and a commercial property tax rate of $18.69 for 2008.
The Council held off from approving the residential and commercial property tax exemptions recommended by the City Assessor, which would provide an exemption of up to 20% for owner-occupied residential properties and an exemption of up to 10% for commercial properties valued at less than $1 million that house businesses with ten or less employees.
Councilor Stephanie Muccini Burke said those exemptions would only benefit certain homeowners and more commercial property owners than small business owners. She said the Council plans to try to work with the state come January to broaden those exemptions.
Council Hears Update on Medford Square
The members of the Medford Square Revitalization Committee are busy employing a new strategy: they are talking to property owners about what kinds of businesses Medford would like to see in the Square, such as restaurants and musical entertainment, before the owners search for tenants.
There are several vacancies to be filled, with the Arcade Building at 8 Forest Street now completely empty and a slew of empty storefronts just across the street.
To attract more desirable businesses, Medford Square Revitalization Committee Co-Chairs Rick Orlando and Linda Garriott urged the Council to consider revising the city’s liquor law, which requires seating for 99 for a full license.
Garriott pointed out that many of the spaces available in the Square would be hard-pressed to find room for so many seats, and many restaurants wouldn’t bother to come to the city without getting a full liquor license.
The Council said revising the liquor law is something they will look into in 2008, but their hands are often tied by the state liquor commission.
According to Councilor Muccini Burke, a state freeze on liquor licenses has prevented the city from increasing its licenses to 25, an increase for which the Council recently voted.
Medford is also waiting on the state for $1 million promised to construct a new parking garage on Governors Avenue.
Garriott and Orlando also gave highlights on other planned projects, including water taxis on the Mystic River, the potential reconstruction of Condon Shell, and the re-alignment of Clippership Drive, which is slated to begin in the fall of 2008. Nearly $3 million in state and federal money has been secured for those projects.
One project that has suffered a setback is the reconstruction of 24 High Street, where Bestsellers Cafe has been located for many years.
Work on the building is on hiatus because the building owner switched plans in the middle of the project to create underground parking. He is now waiting for the proper permits from the city.
Resident Ken Krause called the delay troubling and blamed the property owner.
“It’s been a travesty for one of the best businesses in the Square [Bestsellers Cafe]…[owner Rob Dillman] has suffered immeasurably because the project has been poorly handled,” said Krause.
Just thinking – While I believe it is of obvious value to get input from the property owners on the businesses they’d like to see in the square, it’s not always a matter of ‘build it, and they will come’ – Some input from the public at large, if this has not already been taken into consideration, might be very valuable (and perhaps eye-opening!). Medford Square does not appear to have changed very much for a very long time, and input from the public might be helpful (maybe necessary) in generating new ideas that break away from old patterns. It would give an idea who the square’s ‘audience’ would be, and what types of businesses would induce them to make the trip to come in and spend some time and money. It might allow some surprising ‘thinking outside of the box’ types of ideas to come out that might otherwise go by the wayside – Just my two cents – Thanks.