Councilors clashed over process in recent days but ultimately advanced Wu’s plan. It would hike commercial tax rates to prevent homeowners from seeing a large spike in their taxes.
As the Wu administration works to gain approval for a plan that would temporarily increase commercial property tax rates to prevent a large tax hike for residents, Boston City Council members overwhelmingly voted Wednesday to pass a new iteration of the proposal.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s initial plan was filed back in April, and the City Council passed it in June. The support of lawmakers on Beacon Hill was still needed, and Wu struck a compromise with leaders in the House of Representatives before the legislation stalled in the Senate. Wu hashed out another deal with business leaders and fiscal watchdog groups who had previously opposed the measure last week, and the mayor quickly filed a new home rule petition with the City Council.
But Councilor Ed Flynn delayed an immediate vote, causing the body to hold an emergency special meeting last Friday and a hearing on Tuesday. Much of the discussion during Tuesday’s hearing and Wednesday’s regular City Council meeting centered on the timeline of the new proposal’s passage and the process behind it…