Government

Council’s Budget Priorities for FY 2024 Include Watertown Square Study, Rodent Control & 311 System

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Watertown City Hall

The City Council gave City Manager George Proakis its priorities for the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, which includes funds for a study of the future of Watertown Square, rodent control, and launching a 311 system. Each year, the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Oversight Committee meets in the fall to discuss the priorities for the next fiscal year’s budget. The results were presented on Nov. 22, and adopted by the full Council. Other items added include staffing to make sure the changes to the Comprehensive Plan are implemented, focusing on snow and ice removal as a possible residential requirement is considered, and implementation of recommendations coming out of plans and studies, including the Personnel Department assessment, the salary study, the Energy and Climate Plan, and the Health and Human Services Study.

Government

Council Approves Tax Rates, Cannot Shift Burden onto Commercial as Much as in Past

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A State law that allows cities and towns to shift the tax rates from residential properties to commercial and industrial properties also stands in the way of providing as much relief to homeowners as the City Council would like. Last week, the City Council adopted the new tax rate with a split tax rate and residential exemption that would increase the average annual tax bill by $309 or 4.4 percent. State Law’s Impact on Watertown Taxes

Proposition 2 1/2, which is known for limiting the overall tax levy increase to 2.5 percent per year, also allows for some relief of up to residential property owners. Watertown City Assessor Earl Smith told the City Council on Nov. 22 that the law also limits how much can be “shifted” onto CIP (commercial, industrial and personal) properties.

Government

Property Tax Rates to be Discussed by City Council

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The annual Watertown property tax classification hearing and vote will be held by the City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and taxes look likely to rise in Fiscal Year 2023. City Assessor Earl Smith will present the Tax Classification during the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. The presentation can be seen by clicking here. The Watertown Board of Assessors recommends adopting the maximum shift from residential properties to CIP (commercial, industrial and personal) properties, which is 150 percent, according to the presentation. Also, the Board recommends that the Council provide a residential exemption of 33 percent, which would be three percentage points higher than Fiscal Year 2022.

Government

Council Approves Adding $4.3 Million to FY23 Budget, Plans to Spend Most of Funds

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Watertown City Hall

Watertown’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget increased by $4.325 million when the City Council approved the budget amendment on Nov. 9. Most of the additional funds will go to help purchase the former Parker School or will go into the High School project stabilization fund. City Manager George Proakis gave the details of the budget amendment for the fiscal year that ends on June 30, 2023. The additional fund mostly come from accounts that came in higher than when the budget was approved last spring, Proakis said.

Around Town

Watertown BioSafety Committee Shares How it Oversees Life Science Companies

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An illustration of the different BioSafety Level labs. Watertown has more than 60 life science companies, and more on the way, and they must go through the Watertown BioSafety Committee before they can start operating. Last week, the City Council got an update on what the committee has been doing in its first 2.5 years. The BioSafety Committee was formed as part of the Watertown Biotechnology Regulation, which was adopted by the Watertown Board of Health in 2019 and took effect in July 2020. Existing companies had to come before the BioSafety Committee within a year of the regulations taking effect, and new companies had to come before the committee.

Government

Public Notifications of Development Meetings to be Discussed by Council Committee

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The procedure for notifying the public about development projects will be discussed by the City Council’s Committee on Economic Development and Planning on Monday evening. The meeting will be on Monday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. in the Third Floor Conference Room in City Hall, and on Zoom. Ways to watch and partcipate:

The meeting will be televised through WCATV (Watertown Cable Access Television): http://vodwcatv.org/CablecastPublicSite/?channel=3

Join the meeting online at this link: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/83549340015

Participate by phone in audio using these numbers: (877) 853-5257 or (888) 475-4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 835 4934 0015

The public may comment through email: vpiccirilli@watertown-ma.gov