Springfield proposes tax rate that will increase average home bill by $288

SPRINGFIELD — The average homeowner will likely see their tax bill increase by $288 in the upcoming year if the City Council takes the advice of its tax advisory committee.

The one chance to lower the increase by roughly $30 will come if Mayor Domenic J. Sarno agrees to put $2 million of the free cash certified Tuesday toward the levy, or the total amount needed to fund this year’s about $985 million budget.

The ad-hoc committee, which is made up of residents, the head of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce and city finance employees, voted 5-0 Tuesday to recommend the City Council set the tax rate at $15.62 per $1,000 of valuation of residences and $34.72 for businesses.

The committee had little room to lower the residential tax rate since the City Council had already voted to shift the maximum amount allowed by law to business and commercial property last year. Even if it had shifted the burden back slightly, the average taxpayer would only save $2 on their residential bill.

“We are stuck with having to appropriate the money to fund the budget. We can’t change the budget we voted on in June,” said City Councilor Timothy Allen, who also serves as chairman of the tax committee.

During the spring budget season, city officials and the council scrutinized the budget line-by-line and added no new programs or services. It made some cuts, including 15 unfilled positions, and a lot of small expenses such as supplies and training conferences, but it still grew by about $56 million, said Cathy Buono, chief administrative and financial officer.

Of the increase, $51 million was fixed costs that the city must fund for things like paying the state-required amount to fund schools, health insurance for employees and adding to the unfunded pension fund. Of the remaining $5.4 million, $4.2 million of that went to public safety, she said.

Adding to the difficulty is the state funds 63% of the budget and this year state aid increased by 1% while expenses grew by far more. Real estate taxes fund 29% of the budget, Buono said.

“I think it is reasonable staying at the maximum shift and asking for $2 million to offset the increase,” said Diana Syznal, president and chief executive officer of the Springfield Regional Chamber.

The committee agreed to have Allen meet with Sarno to ask him to consider adding $2 million to the amount needed to be raised to fund the levy. Every additional $1 million lowers the average tax bill by about $15.

The city’s free cash was officially certified at $18 million. The money, which included roughly $10 million earned in investments and the rest from income from fees and unspent money from the previous year’s budget, is typically used for expenses that come up during the year.

Last year’s free cash was about $21 million, and about $3 million went to tax relief. The city used money on a variety of expenses including purchasing new police cruisers, replacing police body worn cameras, paying for snow and ice removal and $3.37 million to settle a wrongful imprisonment suit, Buono said.

Sarno has already agreed to set aside $2 million in interest earned on Treasury bill investments toward tax relief, which has been done for several years. He also agreed to use $2 million initially set aside for pension relief that was later determined not to be needed in the account, Buono said.

City Councilor Tracye Whitfield, who often fights to lower tax bills, said she supported the request for putting $2 million toward relief. In the past, she has called for more.

“I would love for the tax bill (increase) to stay under $200 but we can’t keep using our free cash as a cushion,” she said. “I understand the logic of not tapping into free cash especially since it went down this year.”