Dear Billy T and Somerville Speakup Line,
SOMERVILLE…PRETTY SCARY…be affraid, be very affraid…. recent quote from one of the Somerville Alderman. A concerned resident and ‘coalition’ advocate in Somerville recently sent me this…and it speaks volumes.
I’m in Ward 5, and Mark Niedergang recently said this:
“QUITE FRANKLY, WHILE I AM NOT A SOCIALIST, I NOW BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO PROVIDE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN SOMERVILLE IS TO TAKE HOUSING OUT OF THE FREE MARKET ECONOMY BY DEED RESTRICTING IT TO BE PERMANENTLY AFFORDABLE TO LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME TENANTS OR OWNERS….In our hyper-capitalist economic system, housing is simply a commodity like any other product. ” Mark Niedergang Ward 5 Somerville City Councilor.
Get ready…can you say ‘rent control’…? This Niedergang quote is from correspondence generated through the Councilor’s mailing list and currently on his web site.
this is how I connect the dots.
if more rentals become city owned rentals they will pay no property taxes. To get the extra income its gonna be higher property taxes on singles and condos;
should the above laws go through all multis are worth less money. They will all ask for reassessments of their new lower value. This will result in all other property owners paying more in property taxes.
The two items mentioned above could result in the property tax exemptions being eliminated to make up for the shortfalls. We will see how those owners react to a few thousand dollar hike in their property taxes.
If city owned property does not pay water and sewer bills that will have to be made up somewhere. That “somewhere” is higher water and sewer rates for the other rate payers.
If the state kicks in funding for this housing that means that 30 percent of the newly created housing will have to “out of towners” *NOT Somerville residents*.
Can anyone please name me a local politician who owns rentals and rents to middle or low income?
The Councillor from 5 is silver spooned socialist who is living off his family investment properties in Somerville and out of state. The next click phrase will be rent stabilization.
Property owners in Somerville are under attack these group thinks because you have equity in your property you are wealthy. Not so if anything now you will see values and sales go lower as a result of the Condo Ordinance, transfer tax and the first right of refusal bill 1315 that was put in by the State Rep.
This should be a wake up call to all homeowners in the city. Your taxes will begin to rise drastically as a result of the excessive spending and dumb ideas to allegedly make Somerville affordable.
Rent control was defeated back in the nineties and will be done so again.
Unfortunately all seven of the ward Councilors are unopposed something that is a first in the city’s history.
Homeowners and renters need to unite because the cost of doing business affects us all.