Dear Billy T and Somerville News Weekly Speakup Line,
It appears this is just the tip of the iceberg for what is in store for property owners. The Mayor along with other elected officials and numerous local wing nuts attended the state house for a hearing on 24 pro-tenant bills including rent control, first right of refusal and the real estate transfer tax.
This is the beginning of a movement by a small group of people who want to live here at the expense of others. Property owners costs continue to sky rocket as a direct result of out of control spending all at once.
Residential and commercial properties have experienced several tax increases along with added fees,that have to come from somewhere that is the people who live there, eat there, shop there, stay there.
The elderly, retirees, disabled, lower income, middle class working families are negatively impacted by these decisions to continue to spend more.
What has changed in Somerville other than the densitity due to over develpment within residential neighborhoods. Lack of commercial development that truly brings in tax revenue unlike the Partners deal at Assembly.
The city is the same size, we provide the same basic services, we have roughly the same number of Police, Fire and DPW staffing.
City hall staffing has increased every year without anything positive to assist homeowners and tax payers. Every time something is implemented without fair notice residents have to fight
Taxes have rose every year, water and sewer rates increased every year, excise tax increased every year, permit parking fees and fines increased every year, fees to businesses increase every year, building permits increase every year, added fees to new developments, increased affordable housing on new developments,
Mr. Mayor how can you truly make Somerville affordable, stop all the cost from constantly rising, stop the excessive spending and live within our means.
Someone
The infrastructure and high demand for housing will never change in Somerville…. Bio-tech, Hospitals. and great colleges make it a prime area for companies to recruit from… It’s expensive to live in Boston and it will never change. MIT, Harvard and Tufts are not cheap colleges to attend. They are not lowering their tuition’s and the graduates are getting huge salaries right out of college… so the landlords know this and also it’s never going be cheap. You want cheap move to Springfield or West of Worcester…you can have great home prices/values and rent control in the same area… yes affordable housing is now $1800 form a 1 bedroom..pay it if you want to be close to Boston. It’s the way it is and never changing.
It’s about time rent control is brought back to Massachusetts cities that have absentee landlords charging outrages prices.Bring diversity and all is income levels back to these communities.
Nice in theory but does not work. We already had that here. Landlords if they can’t get what they want for their apartments will not make a profit which is the reason they bought it. It is an investment. Then people like myself do not rent out at all and leave our places vacant rather than give it way for free. We do not have free apartments, we have lots of taxes and fees to have one and the tenant needs to pay their fair share so we make a profit that we determine. No different than going to a grocery store. You have to pay what they ask because they are running the store to make a profit. I bought here because I could not afford a home in Weston so had to but where I could afford it, not where I want. It’s reality.
I suggest that you get the city to lower our property taxes and we will lower the rent accordingly. If you vote for big govt it means large prop taxes and higher rents.
Clearly the Mayor is choosing overboard progressive values by supporting all these whacko ideas. Now he is fighting for a Sanctuary Sate. There he is testifying in Boston with his appointed Chief of SPD and Wil
“mumbles” Mabah.
Its only a meaningless statement for political gain. Maybe he thinks he has a shot for the Governor’s seat. Highly doubtful since he will.not be able to bullshit the bigger players.
Regarding those bills that were heard – how many of the politicians personally own rentals AND rent to middle or low income? The solution is more housing units. There is a shortage of units. The city’s new right of first refusal for condo conversion will result in more empty apartments. The city now forces an owner to to wait for one year or longer before they can work on their building. At a minimum the owner should be exempt from all property taxes as the owner is being denied their ownership of private property.
The city needs to reduce property taxes on everyone. Simple translation is the city needs to reduce its spending. Bring in an efficiency expert to figure out how to reduce spending. Odds are that person will cover their bill to the city in savings.
Increasing property taxes winds up in higher rents. If that is what people vote for then do not complain.
I read someplace the the city employee retirement fund is under funded. That could be another large tax hike one day.