Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/author/cbreitro/page/3/)
Watertown has a variety of properties hosting open houses this weekend. 25 Barnard Ave., $1,350,000, 4 bedroom 2 bathroom 2,110 sq. ft. Single Family, Open houses: Saturday, Oct. 18 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Sunday, Oct.
Watertown Middle School (Courtesy of Watertown Public Schools)
The City Council must soon decided on how to proceed with Watertown Middle School’s renovations: completely redo it or do basic repairs. The catch is a complete renovation (or rebuilt) would required cutting funds planned to go to other areas. City Manager George Proakis outlined what it would take for the City to afford to completely renovate or rebuild the Middle School during his Preliminary Budget Overview for the Fiscal Year 2027 City budget. A big caveat in this plan is the Legislature approving Watertown’s Home Rule Petition that would provide tax relief to residential property owners, and would prevent tax increases of 11 to 18 percent next year (see details here). A feasibility study on the building a new middle school found that the cost of the full project was $112 million, which was well above the $87 million that the City budgeted for the project.
For several years, Watertown’s City has operated comfortably on a budget built on the 2.5 percent property tax increase allowed by the State and the added tax revenue from new developments. A mixture of economic uncertainty and the unknown of whether the State Legislature will approve Watertown’s tax relief request means residents could face a major tax increase next year. City Manager George Proakis presented the Preliminary Fiscal Year 2027 Budget to the City Council on Monday night, which has total forecast expenditures of $226.2 million and includes a shortfall of at least $3.6 million. He also told the Council that his aim is to “maintain options and flexibility” in the City’s budget. He stressed the budget figure is an estimate, adding that the numbers are based on the approval of the Home Rule Petition submitted by Watertown to the Legislature.
The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Sept. 30: An elliptical machine and four monitors were left near a hydrant by the Community Path. Sept. 30: The Internet Crimes Against Children, a federal and state task force, alerted the Watertown Police about a case of child pornography.
A two-family house and two townhouses were sold this week. 22 Broadway #22, $1,230,000, 4 bedroom 5 bathroom 3,100 sq. ft. Townhouse
220 Sycamore St., $1,130,000, 8 bedroom 4 bathroom 4,000 sq. ft.
The candidates for District C City Councilor appeared on a forum at the Watertown Cable studios on Oct. 9. See how to watch the replay of the event, which was co-hosted by WCA-TV and Watertown News. Incumbent Vincent Piccirilli and challenger Andres Guzman appeared on the live broadcast from WCA-TV Thursday night. They answered questions about Watertown Square, the winter parking ban, improving transportation, and more.
Check out the open houses over the weekend in Watertown. 152 Bellevue Road, $1,799,000, 4 bedroom 3 bathroom 3,670 sq. ft. Single Family, Open houses: Friday, Oct. 10 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM Sunday, Oct.
The five candidates for City Councilor At-Large appeared at the candidate forum hosted by Watertown News and Watertown Cable. The replay of the forum is available from WCA-TV. The candidates running for the four spots on the Council are Tom Tracy, Tony Palomba, Theo Offei, John Gannon, and Caroline Bays. They spoke about a variety of subjects, including property taxes, the future of Watertown Square, what to do with Watertown Middle School, housing, and City staffing priorities. Click here to watch the video: http://vodwcatv.org/internetchannel/show/4134?site=1
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Thursday night, the candidates running for District C City Councilor will take appear in a live broadcast from the WCA-TV studio.