_{This story is from The Heights, an independent, nonprofit newspaper run by Boston College students with which the Newton Beacon has a partnership.}

Newton’s Finance Committee voted Monday evening to continue its long-standing approach to property taxes, endorsing a 175 percent shift that places more of the levy burden on commercial property for fiscal year 2026.

Jim Shaughnessy, Newton’s director of assessment, came before the committee to explain the Assessing Office’s collected data from the past few fiscal years to advise the committee on which percent shift to vote for.

Shaughnessy explained to the committee that Newton’s housing market is overwhelmingly residential, as it is 92 percent of the city’s assessed value, and used a price breakdown of homes and commercial buildings sold in 2024 to show the recent prices for property in Newton. Ultimately, Shaughnessy clarified that due to this data, in three of the last five years, the committee voted to shift 175 percent.

“If you were to shift 175 percent tonight, although they make up 7.77 percent of the total property value, [commercial] would end up paying 13.6 percent of the property tax that you guys approved for the budget back in April and May,” Shaughnessy said. “So clearly, if the commercial, industrial, and personal property pay 13.6 percent, then the residential property that makes up 92 percent of the value would end up paying 86.4 percent  of the tax.”

Shaughnessy clarified that even though the city calls it a 175 percent tax shift, the actual number they use ends up being 174.68 percent because they can’t legally round it all the way up to 175 percent without going over the tax limit.

“So you’re shifting the burden onto the commercial property,” Shaughnessy said. “This is nothing new—it’s been done every year for as long as I’ve been here, and I think probably since proposition 2 ½ began in Newton years ago.”

Maureen Lemieux, Newton’s chief financial officer, also supported the 175 percent shift. Lemieux said the 175 percent shift resulted in the lowest missed levy capacity, the lowest single-family tax increase, and relatively low commercial and industrial tax increases.

“It’s always been a conversation between 173, 174, and 175 percent, but I think this year, hands down, for all of the different reasons why we analyze this, the 175 percent is absolutely what our recommendation would be,” Lemieux said.

Alex Jablon, a member of Newton’s Financial Audit Advisory Committee, urged the committee to support the 175 percent shift to alleviate the homeowner burden.

“The 175 percent tax shift is the right policy for Newton’s fiscal health and for fairness,” Jablon said. “It keeps our tax system progressive in line with the ability to pay. It secures the revenues that we need to run the city well, and it aligns with our long-term strategy to expand the commercial tax base the proper way, through growth and not through unwarranted rates.”

Jablon then clarified that while he supported a 175 percent shift to support Newton homeowners, that is not to say that he thinks Newton shouldn’t prioritize its businesses.

“Supporting the maximum shift does not mean that we are anti-business here in Newton,” Jablon said. “[But] giving up residential tax relief now in hopes of a short-term boom to business is not the answer. It has not worked in the past—it will not work in the future.”

Ward 2 Councilor-at-Large Tarik Lucas wasn’t fully convinced the 175 percent was the best plan for everyone, clarifying that this tax levy would not be beneficial for business owners.

“I have always recommended 170 percent, the exact opposite, because that is the most favorable tax rate for business owners, and respectfully, I am going to vote that way when this comes to the full council,” Lucas said.

Despite this objection, the finance committee itself was in favor of the motion to shift to a 175 percent residential factor. The motion passed 7–0 and was passed to the city council.