Watertown Seeks Permanent Property Tax Split to Block 18 Percent Residential Hike

BOSTON — January 27, 2026 — Watertown presses Massachusetts Revenue Committee for a permanent property tax fix to prevent an 18 percent residential hike. City Manager George Proakos told the Joint Committee on Revenue Tuesday that without House Bill 4687, the average Watertown homeowner will face an 18.4 percent tax increase — roughly $1,300 — in fiscal year 2027, while Alexandria Real Estate, the city's largest commercial taxpayer at roughly $19 million annually, would see its bill drop by approximately $2.9 million. An obscure 1988 state law locks Watertown's minimum residential tax share at 61 percent, a figure set when much of the Arsenal Street corridor was federally owned and off the tax rolls; the city won a three-year reprieve in 2024 and now seeks to make the 50 percent residential floor permanent. The committee, co-chaired by Representative Adrian C. Madaro and Senator James B. Eldridge, also heard testimony on a proposed recreation tax for Charlemont, electric school bus tax equity bills, and a Sudbury senior exemption renewal, with a House reporting deadline of March 28.