Average Woburn Residential Tax Bill To Rise $194

WOBURN, MA — The average Woburn residential tax bill is increasing $194 for Fiscal Year 2021, after the city council set the city's tax shift recently.

The council voted at their Dec. 8 meeting to set a 175 percent tax shift, the maximum allowed, meaning commercial taxpayers will pay 175 percent of what they would if there was a uniform residential-commercial rate. Residential taxpayers will pay just 71 percent of that uniform rate.

Specifically, the residential rate will be 9.33, up just one cent, while the commercial rate will be 22.86.

The average residential bill would have increased an additional $146 if city council had not recently agreed to use $3.5 million from free cash to shore up the budget. City officials planned in June, when passing the budget, to use reserves to replace revenue lost due to the coronavirus.

"I want to thank you all for your work on that and the work we've been able to do to build up our reserves for this rainy day," Mayor Scott Galvin said. "The ability to tap those reserves is going to do a lot to save our residents."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.