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It’s National Boston Cream Pie Day, the day we celebrate a pie that’s actually a cake (like the opposite of cheesecake). Experts are adamant about it. “It’s not a pie at all,” Susan Wilson, the historian at the birthplace of the pie/cake, the Omni Parker House, told WBUR’s Fausto Menard. “It’s a cake. It was always cake. It will always be cake.
You can read more about the history of Boston cream pie in our Field Guide to the city’s culinary landscape. Now to the news:
We have a deal: Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and local business leaders have agreed to a compromise on her plan to shift more of the city’s tax burden to businesses. The deal, designed to avoid both drastic tax increases for homeowners and painful budget cuts, would allow the city to temporarily raise its commercial property tax rate outside state limits — though it’s lower than Wu’s original proposal and includes several new protections for small businesses. Here’s what you need to know:
- How it got started: State law allows cities and towns to set different property tax rates for residents and businesses. But it limits how much higher the business tax can be: up to 175% of the rate it would be if residents and businesses had the same rate. (Because of that limitation, Wu said a projected decline in office values could force the city to raise property tax rates on residents to make up for lost tax revenue — or resort to service cuts and layoffs.)
- How it’s going: Wu’s original plan would have increased that limit to 200% before scaling it back to 175% over five years. After negotiations with the House, she agreed to 190% with a three-year reduction. Now the new deal with business leaders allows the city to climb to 181.5%. It also set aside $45 million to offset small business tax increases and raised the small business property tax exemption threshold from $10,000 to $30,000.
- What’s next: Wu must file a new home rule petition, which needs approval from the Boston City Council, both chambers of the state House and Gov. Maura Healey. Most importantly, the deal has already received approval from Senate President Karen Spilka, whose chamber blocked Wu’s first proposal.
- What does this all mean for homeowners? Under the new deal, Wu’s office says the average Boston homeowner, with a home valued at $838,000, would see last year’s $5,500 property tax bill rise by $491 spread over the following January and April property tax bills. (The city previously said the average increase would be $768 at the current 175% tax cap, compared to a $273 increase if it were raised to Wu’s preferred 190%.)
- What about business? With total commercial property values expected to fall 7%, $5 million commercial properties will still see a drop in their nominal tax bill, from $126,350 last year to $122,304 this year.
- The big picture: Business leaders believe this may have been just the first chapter in a debate over generating tax revenue in an era of hybrid work and falling office building values. Greg Vasil, CEO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, told WBUR’s Amy Sokolow that he thinks “we’re in uncharted territory.” Jim Rooney, the president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, supports the new plan. But he told WBUR’s John Bender the city still needs to slow down its consumption. “Otherwise we’re back to the same conversation,” he said.
In memoriam: Members of Congress are mourning the death of a colleague this week. State Rep. Susan Williams Gifford, a Republican from Wareham, died of cancer Tuesday at age 64. Gifford served as the House Minority Representative and had been on Beacon Hill since 2003.
Offshore: Vineyard Wind will remove more blades from existing turbines at its offshore wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts after one broke and fell last summer. The manufacturer of the blades, GE Vernova, would not release a specific number of blades to be removed. Vineyard Wind says it will also strengthen some blades out of “an abundance of caution” following recent quality inspections.
PS — This week’s episode of The general takes a close look at Vineyard Wind. Literally! After chartering a boat with a group of journalists last month to visit the offshore turbines, WBUR’s Miriam Wasser joined Daryl K. Murphy to talk about what she saw.