Last week, the Police Department announced that the overall City-wide crime rate in 2012 declined by 4% over the previous year. I asked the Police Department to break down the data for our neighborhood. You can view the chart by clicking here: Crime Statistics Chart. The chart compiles the data for District 8 (for map, click here: District 8 map) and District 9 (for map, click here: District 9 Map). As you can see, the results are mixed, including increases in robberies in both districts, motor vehicle thefts in District 8 and larceny from motor vehicles in District 9. We will have a chance to discuss this data (as well as the recently announced plans to increase the size of the Police Department by at least 40 officers) at a community meeting that will take place this Thursday, April 11, at 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at the Nathan Bishop Middle School. For a flyer describing the meeting, click here: Community Meeting. You are welcome to attend.
Last Monday night, the Tax Assessor presented information about the tax revaluation. Every taxpayer will receive a letter in the next 1-2 weeks stating the new assessed value of their home, based on a database of 2010-12 sales. The evaluation firm screens out short sales, foreclosures, friendly sales and other transactions for less than full consideration from the database by including only “warranty deeds”, and not foreclosure deeds, quitclaims deeds, etc. When (as is true here) property values decline, the City increases the tax rate to yield the same amount of revenue as before. If property values decline at different rates across the City, some people will see their new tax bill decline, while others will see it rise. The Tax Assessor predicts that East Side tax bills will increase, because property values have declined more steeply in other parts of the City. In the meantime, the Mayor has proposed freezing commercial taxes for seven years. It is not clear whether he meant to freeze the tax rate or the tax bills. In a declining market, a freeze on tax bills would allow the City to raise the rate if the property’s value declines. I agree that the City’s commercial tax rate needs to be reduced, but we need to know the details of the revaluation process before addressing a specific proposal.
Last Thursday night, the City Council gave its final approval to pension reform. The City will now present the agreements to the Superior Court for review and the entry of consent judgments, which will mark the final step of the process. Although its terms were not ideal, I voted to approve the reform because it is critical to the City’s future survival. One provision that was particularly difficult to approve was a 1-year extension of the police and fire fighter collective bargaining agreements, the latter now extending through June, 2016. I do not believe it is good policy (or consistent with at least the spirit of State law) for municipal governments to enter into collective bargaining agreements that extend more than three years into the future. With that in mind, I introduced an ordinance to prevent, on a going forward basis, the approval of collective bargaining agreements that extend more than three years beyond the year of approval. The proposed ordinance will now go through the vetting process, but I am hopeful we will prevent this practice from reoccurring.
Sincerely,
