Homeowners to see increase in property tax bills

  Single-family homeowners will see an average increase in their property tax bills of $264 in the coming year, while condominium, two-family and three-family homeowners will see lower increases in their bills. Last week, the City Council approved the residential tax shift of 175 percent that places a greater property tax burden on commercial properties. With the shift, the tax rate for residential property will be $10.40 per $1,000 of valuation, while the commercial rate will be $20.56.

  Several City Councillors questioned why there was still an increased burden on residential taxpayers when Revere saw the largest amount of new commercial growth in its history over the past year. Dana Brangiforte, chairman of the Board of Assessors, said the tax shift provides the greatest benefit possible under law to homeowners. Taking into account new growth and the 2½ percent increase in tax rates allowed under Proposition 2½, Brangiforte said, the total tax levy limit has increased from $95,665,289 to $102,073,296.

  “Growth is a major contributor to the levy,” said Brangiforte. “What that is is anything that is subject to taxation for the first time.”

  The just over $4 million in new growth is the largest the city has ever seen, he said. That breaks down into $2.1 million in new residential growth and $1.9 million in new commercial growth. Brangiforte said the residential growth came in part from several large, new apartment buildings coming online in the past year, including at 500 Ocean Ave., 320 Revere Beach Blvd., 50 Ocean Ave. and 450 American Legion Hwy. The commercial growth is largely tied into Amazon and Suffolk Downs developments and new hotels on Ocean Avenue and American Legion Highway.

  Single-family homes saw their values increase around 12.4 percent, resulting in an average tax increase of $264, Brangiforte said. Condominium values were up eight percent, with an average increase in the tax bill of about $20, while two-family homes saw their value increase by about 10 percent with a $175 increase in the average tax bill. Three-family homes saw an 8 percent increase in valuations, with a $192 increase in the average tax bill.

  “Now average is just a way to gauge what is going on versus last year; nothing is average,” said Brangiforte. “Some people might see less of an increase and some people might see more.”

  Several councillors, including Patrick Keefe and Richard Serino, said they would like to see the valuations of commercial properties and large-scale residential developments increase, taking some of the burden off the individual homeowners. “When we discuss large-scale commercial development and apartment buildings, one of the things that we are sold on is that they are supposed to bring down the tax bracket for the average one- and two-family houses,” said Serino.

  Ward 3 Councillor Arthur Guinasso said that given all the new growth in the city, he still feels the tax rate for residents in Revere is too high. “We have more than we anticipated, and we’re still drawing a high rate, which is kind of discouraging,” he said. “To tax the single homeowner is really unfair; we have to adjust this formula because it is not in balance. The citizens of our city are really struggling to meet their financial needs and support their families, and we ought to look at avenues to help them out.”