Boston city councilors and other local officials on Tuesday clashed over process more than policy, as Mayor Michelle Wu’s push to temporarily tinker with property tax rates faces a key deadline.
Time is running out for the Wu administration to get the City Council’s and Beacon Hill’s blessing for a compromise proposal, which would increase commercial property tax rates beyond what is currently allowed by state law to prevent homeowners from seeing a dramatic spike in their property tax bills.
The city needs to finalize tax rates by the end of November to send out property tax bills at the start of January, officials have said. Wu filed a new iteration of her proposal with the council last week after reaching a deal with business and fiscal watchdog groups who had opposed her original legislation, and kept it in limbo at the State House for months.
But during a hearing on the compromise measure Tuesday, at least three councilors expressed frustration that the council is under pressure to fast track the policy, while others argued that they’ve had months to hash out and offer input on the issue, which would have significant potential consequences for vulnerable homeowners.
Councilor Ed Flynn, who last week used a procedural maneuver to delay the council from immediately advancing the proposal to committee, defended his actions. The council still was able to move the measure forward during an emergency special meeting last Friday, and schedule a hearing for Tuesday.
“I firmly believe that no matter how tight deadlines are, we cannot adhere to the values of transparency only when it is convenient,’’ Flynn said. “It did not have to be this messy in pitting residents against businesses, or public disagreements with the state and business community, we should have listened to fiscal watchdog groups and experts to compromise months ago.’’
Flynn this year has vocally opposed several of the mayor’s initiatives, and has been rumored to be considering challenging her for mayor next year.
Councilor Erin Murphy also expressed concern that the council was not included in negotiations over the compromise proposal.
“I worry that because we know this body has the votes to pass whatever the mayor sends over to us, that we are OK with little to no conversation and input into the process,’’ Murphy said.
But several councilors, including council President Ruthzee Louijeune, pushed back. They said there had been months of discussions after the mayor first announced her original tax proposal at the end of March.
“This is obviously the second iteration of this council talking about this home rule petition, and previously we held hearings and a working session,’’ Louijeune said. “We want to prevent a significant increase in taxes that our residents, especially our seniors living on fixed incomes, would experience, and this helps us get there.’’
Marty Walz, who testified during Tuesday’s council hearing in her capacity as interim president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a fiscal watchdog agency included in the negotiations with the mayor over the policy, also disputed that the process was “secretive’’ or “private.’’ She said Tuesday’s hearing was the fourth the body held on the subject, and pointed to a separate State House hearing on the proposal, as well as several public communications between the parties about the issue.
“There are a lot of things that can be said about this process, but a lack of public discussion isn’t one of them,’’ Walz, a former state representative, said. “This is what governing looks like. . . . There are proposals, there’s counter proposals, and there’s a lot of conversation, some of which, of course, happens out of the public view, as stakeholders try to find common ground, as we were asked to do, and as we should do.’’
The council is expected to vote on the proposal during its next regular meeting on Wednesday.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
