Monday night’s Chelsea Council vote locked in the recommended tax rate alongside a 30 percent residential exemption, resulting in modest tax bill adjustments across the city’s property classes—increases for most homeowners but relief for condo dwellers.
The most significant jump came for three-family homeowners, facing a 9 percent rise amounting to $449 beyond last year’s bills. By contrast, single-family residences and other property types experienced only nominal increases.
Condo owners emerged as the sole beneficiaries, with tax bills declining 13.3 percent from the prior year—a $279 reduction per bill.
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“This (tax rate) will result in a reduction of the average tax bill for owner-occupant condominiums, but an average tax increase of varying amounts to other owner-occupied parcels,” City Manager Tom Ambrosino wrote. “By selecting the 30 percent residential exemption amount, the City Council will have the opportunity to spread the benefit of the 35 percent exemption limit over future fiscal years.”
At the maximum 175 percent commercial shift, the new residential rate settled at $14.26 per $1,000 of assessed value, while commercial and industrial properties face a $29.15 rate.
Industrial property values have historically climbed more slowly than residential assessments, a pattern persisting over recent years. This dynamic may shift, however, as inner-city industrial and commercial real estate has gained appeal during the past 18 months. Since property valuations lag market conditions by approximately one year, Ambrosino noted that rising industrial values could eventually provide additional tax relief to residential owners—a possibility some industry observers anticipate.
“An increase in industrial/commercial property values would be good for residential properties,” Ambrosino stated. “The values now are behind the market, and if values do increase going forward, it would offset some of the tax burden. We’ve made a concerted effort to maintain our industrial areas. We want to keep industrial uses in our industrial areas because there isn’t a lot of space available for these businesses and they are good taxpayers. We don’t want to lose them.”
The upcoming year’s average tax bills are projected as:
- Single-family – $2,690 (1.4 percent increase)
- Condominiums – $1,821 (13.3 percent decrease)
- Two-families – $4,024 (6.4 percent increase)
- Three-families – $5,563 (8.8 percent increase)
- Four-units – $6,660 (7.3 percent increase)