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Springfield mayor pitches tax relief with latest budget plan

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, joined by members of his finance team, announces his fiscal year 2023 budget recommendation at City Hall on May 12, 2022
Paul Tuthill
/
WAMC
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, joined by members of his finance team, announces his fiscal year 2023 budget recommendation at City Hall on May 12, 2022

Sarno wants to use free cash to reduce tax levy, expand abatements for homeowners

Its budget season in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. This year, much of the focus will be on tax relief.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is proposing a nearly $819 million budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1st, 2022. It is an increase of 3.8 percent over the spending called for in the current budget.

As part of his budget announcement, Sarno is pushing initiatives to lower property taxes for city homeowners.

“We’re trying to focus on the middle class,” Sarno said. “They’re hurting – inflation, gas for the car, groceries, paying a mortgage – we’re trying to focus on the middle class of all creeds, colors, and backgrounds to give them a little help.”

One part of the tax relief plan is to use $3.5 million in surplus cash from prior fiscal years to reduce the tax levy. Also, Sarno wants to double from $500 to $1,000 the tax abatement available to income- eligible seniors and lower the eligibility age from 70 to 65. Additionally, he wants to make the same abatement available to single-family homeowners under the age of 65 who meet the income and asset restrictions.

That last piece will require approval by the state legislature and the governor in the form of a Springfield-specific bill known has a home-rule petition.

“Maybe we start a trend,” Sarno said. “Springfield is the city of firsts. If the home-rule goes through, other municipals will look to do it too.”

The impact of the proposals on individual tax bills can’t be calculated until new tax rates are set later this year. Property taxes on the average single-family home in Springfield increased by $216 this year.

Sarno’s budget maintains core city services and proposes no layoffs of city employees. While there are no new programs, there is no retrenchment.

“Before COVID-19 hit we had a tremendous amount of momentum across the city,” Sarno said. “I think we are getting our mojo back and this budget will help accelerate that pace.”

The budget is balanced without dipping into the city’s reserve or “rainy day” fund that currently has $44 million.

“We have to be cognizant that a recession is coming,” Sarno warned.

The City Council has until the end of June to approve a budget, or the one proposed by the mayor is automatically adopted. The Council only has authority to cut the mayor’s proposed spending, it cannot add to it.

“I thank the City Council for their review and I am hopeful they will pass this budget in its entirety.” Sarno said.

City Councilor Zaida Govan of Ward 8, who attended Sarno’s budget announcement in City Hall, applauded when she heard him announce that $1.5 million would be spend to pave private streets.

“We have property owners on private ways who pay taxes but because it is a private way it’s not paved and snow plows have a tough time going down the street,” Govan said. “I’m hoping we can get more private ways paved so the property owners can have some relief that way.”

There is also money in the budget to put gunshot detection technology used by the Springfield Police in the Indian Orchard neighborhood Govan represents.

“We’ve had some gun violence in the last six months, so I am excited we are getting Shotspotter expanded to Indian Orchard so we can have the same (police) response the rest of the city gets,” Govan said.

Sarno held his budget press conference a day before his office announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. The statement said he was experiencing mild symptoms and would isolate for five days. Sarno’s office said the mayor had been vaccinated and boosted.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.