Westfield City Council approves tax rate for 2012 |
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Dec. 14, 2011
By Debbie Gardner
Assistant Editor
WESTFIELD — The City Council finally agreed on a tax assessment at its Dec. 1 meeting.
According to City Councilor James Brown, the second round of voting on the assessment was necessary because councilors did not adhere to the City Charter ruling that “all votes taken on motions, resolutions and ordinances must receive a minimum of seven affirmative votes to pass. The initial vote on the tax assessment, which took place at the Nov. 17 meeting, was 6 to 5 in favor. Brown said he was made aware of the error during a subsequent Legislative and Ordinance Subcommittee meeting, and submitted the motion for a re-vote.
The council attempted to approve a 1.64 shift on its first vote, which Brown said ended in a 6 to 6 tie. It then entertained a motion proposing a 1.63 shift, which passed as a motion 7 to 5, but failed on the final vote, 6 to 6.
Brown said the councilors finally reached a compromise tax shift of 1.635, which passed by a vote of 7 to 5, with councilors Patti Andras, John J. Beltrandi III, Christopher Crean, David A. Flaherty and Nicholas Morganelli=, Jr., voting in favor of the motion, and councilors James Brown, Brent B. Bean II, Peter J. Miller, Brian Sullivan and Christopher Keefe voting against.
Brown said the 1.635 tax shift would translate into a rate of $16.14 per $1,000 valuation for homeowners and a rate of $30.38 per $1,000 valuation for businesses in Westfield. A spokesperson for the Assessor’s Office said the tax shift means an increase of 72 cents per thousand for residential property and $1.23 per thousand for commercial property over the fiscal year 2011(FY11) rates. For a $231,300 home, the average city valuation, the new rate would add $111.50 to the FY12 taxes.
Debbie Gardner can be reached by email at debbieg@thereminder.com
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