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New tax rates lower for homes and rise slightly for businesses

Date: 10/6/2009

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- On Sept. 30, the City Council gave both business owners and residents a break on the upcoming tax bills, but members expressed concerned they might rue the reductions.

On the average residential bill, property owners will see a reduction of $27. The rate on commercial property will rise, but only 82 cents per thousand dollars.

Under the plan submitted by Mayor Michael Bissonnette, residents would have seen a decrease in their bills of $44 and businesses would have seen no change.

The City Council could not alter the overall amount to be raised by the property tax, but could change the ratio of what share businesses and residents pay.

Gale Sherman, president of the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce and property owner Cory Brier both spoke before the council's vote on supporting businesses in the city. Brier noted that downtown business owners understand they must pay taxes, but are very concerned about the lack of adequate long-term and short-term parking in the area.

He presented a petition urging action on parking to the council with 34 signatures, including State Rep. Joseph Wagner.

Sherman, who called herself the "perennial squeaky wheel," asked the council to take steps to buy and demolish the former Market Square Billiards building directly across from City Hall and turn the property into a parking lot. She and Brier said homeless people are living in the back of the building and people are concerned about safety issues.

While the action taken on the business tax rate pleased Sherman, several of the councilors themselves expressed grave misgivings that Bissonnette did not submit a plan that would have raised the maximum amount of taxes at this time.

Councilor James Tillotson said the effort to lower the tax bill for residents before an election is "obviously political."

He charged the mayor's use of stabilization money lowered the tax rate.

Councilor Dino Brunetti worried the lower tax rates would have serious results.

"I think we're going to be short next year," he said.

"Everyone in this room knows the budget isn't balanced," Councilor Shane Brooks said.

Brooks added that revenue projections from the state indicate the next fiscal year will be even harder for cities and towns.

"We need to be real clear," Brooks said. "Next year it's going to be worse."

Brooks predicted that succeeding tax bills "will go up exponentially."

Councilor Jean Croteau said that if this year's tax rate had gone to the limit, residents wouldn't have received any relief but wouldn't have seen any increase either.