Malden Vol. 28, No. 49 -FREEMalden Holiday Parade of Traditions – see pages 14 & 15 ADVOCATE www.advocatenews.net Published Every Friday Festive Fellsmere lights up the holidays 617-387-2200 Friday, December 6, 2019 Tax rates drop, but bills will still climb By Barbara Taormina N Children gather with with Santa and Mayor Gary Christenson during the third annual Christmas Tree Lighting at Fellsmere Pond. See page 12 for photo highlights. MHS football feasts on T-Day ext year’s tax rate is going down, but tax bills will still be higher because of increased values of property in Malden. City Assessor James O’Brien met with the City Council just before Thanksgiving for the annual hearing on next year’s tax rates. Although O’Brien is still waiting for final certification from the state Department of Revenue, next year’s rates are expected to be $12.65 for residential property and $19.58 for commercial property. The City Council voted unanimously to accept O’Brien’s recommendation and continue the city’s practice of shifting some of the total tax burden from residential to commercial properties. Councillors approved a shift, or tax factor, of 1.75, which means that for every dollar a residential property owner will pay, a commercial property owner will pay $1.75. “Both residential and commercial rates are going down,” said O’Brien. “Generally, as values rise, rates go down.” This year’s residential rate is $13.27 for every $1,000 of assessed value, while the commercial rate is $20.53. O’Brien said the assessed Jerry Mervil of the Malden Golden Tornados is chased down by Adian Barry and opponents from the Medford Mustangs during the Thanksgiving match at Hormel Stadium. See pages 16-19 for photo highlights. Malden voices support for a neighbor in need By Barbara Taormina According to Massachusetts A well-known and admired Malden resident was in the headlines throughout the state this week after an inexplicable incident at Logan Airport on Monday. State Police, Sergiu Parfeni, 31, opened an emergency exit door in Logan’s Terminal C, ran across the tarmac and climbed into the cargo hold of a JetBlue plane. A JetBlue crew was able to stop Parfeni and remove values of properties in Malden are hovering below the market rate, which is based on sales figures. “We keep it that way because we don’t want everyone coming in on January 1 asking for abatement,” he explained. Although shifting the tax him from the plane immediately. Parfeni was then taken into custody and charged with interfering with aircraft operations, trespassing and disorderly conduct. VOICES | SEE PAGE 26 burden from residential to commercial properties benefits homeowners, it also has the potential to discourage new businesses from settling in a city or town. And bringing new businesses and industries to Malden has been a shared goal of almost everyone serving in city government. Malden’s 2019 commercial rate is higher than Somerville’s rate of $17.33 and Medford’s rate of $18.43. Still, Malden businesses pay considerably less than Everett businesses paid this year with their commercial rate of $35.27. But there were no business owners at this year’s tax hearing to raise objections or concerns to the shift. And while commercial tax rates may be a consideration for some businesses scouting out a new location, O’Brien said it’s usually not a deal breaker. “I would be hard-pressed to remember a time when there’s been any push back about the shift,” he added. In addition to voting on the new rates, councillors voted to continue an owner-occupied exemption of 30 percent. In 2008, Malden adopted the residential exemption to reduce property taxes on owner-occupied homes by shifting some of the tax burden to high-value homes and non-owner-occupied residential properties. For the past seven years, the City Council has approved a 30 percent residential exemption, the maximum allowed by the state. The exemption is the dollar amount of 30 percent of the average value of all the city’s residential properties, from large luxury apartment buildings to small residential condos. The savings for property owners who are eligible for the tax break will be $2,261, up from last year’s exemption of $2,157. According to O’Brien, the average tax bill for a single-family home will increase by about $252 next year, while residents who own condos will see a bump up of about $150 on their bills. Average increases for a two-family will be $230, while property taxes for three-family homes will see average hikes of $370.
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