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Date: 11/16/2021
CHICOPEE – With the pandemic presenting a wave of new financial difficulties, the City Council has approved a lower residential tax rate for the 2022 Fiscal Year (FY22).
Before the tax rate was agreed upon, Chicopee Mayor John Vieau announced the appropriation of $1 million toward the FY22 Tax Levy during his mayor’s orders at the Nov. 4 City Council meeting. Vieau said the funds would be coming from the city’s stabilization fund, with his office wanting to use the appropriation as a means of tax relief. “We just went through COVID-19 and we’re all in this together,” said Vieau, who referenced $2 million in leftover funds that the City Council also approved toward tax relief during prior meetings.
Vieau stressed accomplishing the appropriation before the council set the 2022 tax rate. He also shared that the recent tax assessment represented a gulf in tax values, including a 10 percent decrease for commercial real estate values and a 10 percent increase in residential real estate values. “My administration is committed to helping the residents, our rate payers and our taxpayers,” said Vieau. The council ultimately approved the mayor’s order.
The City Council then gathered on Nov. 9 to set the 2022 tax rate during a Special Meeting. Assessor Laura McCarthy detailed how developments over the year will impact the new rates. Despite facing the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, she explained that Chicopee has continued to have one of the lowest rates in Hampden County. “The only community that is lower than us in this area is Springfield,” said McCarthy.
City Assessor Victor Anop spoke positively on behalf of the council’s efforts to support tax relief, “We haven’t had the council pitch in $3 million toward the tax rate since 2010. The council and its wisdom with the mayor made a sound decision during the pandemic to reduce the amount the taxpayer would have to pay.”
With the disparity between residential and commercial values, the councilors discussed solutions for the FY22 rate. Councilor At-Large James Tillotson motioned for a new residential rate of $16.99 per $1,000, which would represent a decrease from FY21’s $17.61 rate per $1,000. “I think it’s fair option, the homeowners are going to get hit with an extra 10 percent…therefore, I think it’s fair to go to the max we’re allowed to shift,” said Tillotson. McCarthy detailed that the $16.99 rate is the lowest the state is allowing communities to implement.
In terms of residential exceptions, Tillotson and the assessors favored the exceptions to be declined to stay consistent with how the city has operated. “We’ve never done that, we’ve always leveled the playing field [for taxpayers],” said Tillotson. The council ultimately voted in agreement against the exceptions.