Framingham Sets 2022 Tax Rates With Nod To Businesses

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Framingham City Council has set the 2022 tax rates, with Councilors choosing a slightly higher tax rate for residential property owners as a symbolic nod toward businesses.

Over the past year, property values have continued to rise in Framingham: about 5.1 percent across all property types, and more than 6 percent across residential properties. That means the city can set a lower tax rate and still collect the revenue needed to pay for city and school operations.

Councilors set the 2022 residential tax rate at $13.75 per $1,000 of value. The owner of a home of average value in Framingham — $490,900 — will see about a $183 increase at that rate, and the average bill will be about $6,750. The 2021 tax rate was set at $14.05 (average tax bill: $6,566) per $1,000 of assessed value, down from $14.96 in 2020.

Like other larger communities in Massachusetts, Framingham typically shifts the burden of property taxes away from residential owners and toward industrial and commercial properties. That means commercial and industrial property owners pay higher taxes. Those higher tax bills can often impact small businesses like restaurants that lease space in commercial properties.

Over the past four years, Framingham has shifted the tax burden by a factor of 1.72. This year, District 8 Councilor John Stefanini asked the Council to shift taxes by a lower factor of 1.71 as a sign that Framingham is business-friendly.

This would be "a signal that we want more commercial and industrial growth, which is an important part of keeping residential taxes down," Stefanini said.

The Council unanimously approved Stefanini's proposal, resulting in the $13.75 rate versus the $13.70 option that Councilors could've chosen at the 1.72 factor.