The Current State of Affairs in Michelle Wu’s World: A Letter from SPOA’s President

Dear SPOA Members and Supporters:

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu attended the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce breakfast on September 25, 2024. Two important issues were raised; NAIOP (Commercial Real Estate Association) formally requested that the implementation of inclusionary zoning requirements be delayed. Mayor Wu was asked about this in a sit down with Chamber President Jim Rooney. These shifts increase the affordable housing requirement for new construction from the existing 13% to 17% and add on top of that a 3% subsidy for housing vouchers — bringing the requirement to 20% on October 1, 2024.

NAIOP President, Tamara Small, wrote by formal letter, “… the regulations will do nothing but further dampen already depressed housing production in the City of Boston, undermining the City’s goals for growth and further driving up the cost of market-rate housing.”

When asked about this by Jim Rooney at the Chamber Breakfast, Mayor Wu answered with a familiar word salad about predictability of policies, saying, “The baseline is the baseline, the rules are the rules.” In other words, no, a delay is not happening.

On the tax shift issue, the mayor gave a similar answer. She bemoaned the restrictions of the state’s Proposition 2.5, confining tax increases to 2.5% plus new growth, and explained this was a problem of allocation, not revenue. $200M of budget cuts are simply not possible and her plan “maintains balance”.

Huh? How many unfunded mandates were created with Covid funds? How did the city not foresee this budget crisis? What is Plan B if this does not get through the senate? It appears this tax shift was an idea recycled by Ashley Groffenberger, Wu’s Chief Financial Officer, formerly the Budget Director for Mayor London Breed in San Francisco.

The debate over Wu’s attempted tax shift plan continued both in a meeting last week with Senate President Karen Spilka and Michelle Wu’s team, as well as Boston leadership. The issue was also addressed on the Friday, September 27, episode of Boston Public Radio with Jim Braude and co-host Andrea Cabral.

As reported in Contrarian Boston, Braude was apparently aghast that a major tax shift proposal potentially effecting Boston’s economy, and therefore the entire state, might require oversight.

“She was elected to run the damn city. Karen Spilka [Senate President], where is she from, Ashland or something? [She] was elected to run state affairs.” lamented Braude.

To make matters worse during Friday’s radio time, co-host Cabral, former state public safety chief, added, “The people who own that property don’t even live in Boston.” As if those owners are not stake-holders who make important contributions to Boston and its economy???

Thus, we thank Senate President Spilka for holding the line on sanity and reason.

Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy pushed an alternative that would funnel $45M of city funds towards homeowners. An annual investment of $15M, over three years, currently allocated to help small businesses, could directly fund residents and provide tax relief to 20-30% of Boston homeowners with assessed values under $1.5M. Although the proposal did not seem to attract a lot of attention, we thank Councilors Flynn and Murphy for providing viable alternatives.

Thanks to Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Wu’s Chief of Streets, whose bike lanes have essentially eliminated a lane of traveling traffic throughout Boston, commuters are certainly feeling unwelcome in the city. This impractical plan has doubled commuting times, forced re-routing of the Duck Tours, and abolished parking options for small and large businesses alike — especially with an unreliable public transportation system. No wonder the buses can’t get the children to school on time. Although the mayor’s sneering ideologues consider we should pick up the tab for her bloated budget, we’re getting the picture that we are, in their view, only ancillary contributors to her tax burden, clearly not valued stakeholders.

What else is going well in Boston?

The schools? Contrarian Boston reported on plunging test scores at Boston’s Exam Schools. MCAS results at Boston Latin Academy for English are 35%, down from 57% a year ago. Boston Latin’s scores are down to 67% and the O’Bryant School of Math and Science at 57% where scores once stood at 90%.

Drug use and crime are up in Boston Common, chasing Ben Franklin costumed tour guides from the premises. Zombies cluster in Boston Garden, as well as the Common, perhaps migrating from the open-air drug market at Mass & Cass.

Boston is an economic driver for the state. It also sets the tone for policy discourse throughout Massachusetts. The indignance that Wu should have to seek oversight and cooperation for a $1.5 BILLION budget shortfall seems almost comical.

Therefore, we are asking SPOA members to please contact Senate President Karen Spilka’s office, as well as your state senators, to thank them for being supportive of commercial taxpayers. Please contact her office at 617-722-1500 or Karen.Spilka@masssenate.gov .

It’s only a matter of time before progressives go after Proposition 2.5%, which is the only thing keeping the state afloat. With an unsustainable budget for “new comers,” the only way to move towards any path of sustainability will be through increased taxation. SPOA bets that the increased 4% on the millionaire’s tax, bringing state revenue over $1M to 9%, will in the long-term be looked at as the beginning of the end for doing business in Massachusetts. But increased taxation on all levels from progressive legislators means that creating housing in Boston (and MA) is now not only unprofitable, but untenable.

After our recent missive encouraging the mayor to tighten her belt instead of raising taxes, SPOA was signed up for the Missionary Sisters of the Church of Latter Day Saints. However cute, that type of response mocks policy discussions with serious implications for our members. Despite the fact Wu acolytes don’t like our messaging, we will continue to advocate for property owners throughout the state. It appears they think we should go to church when they, ironically, need divine guidance more than the rest of us.

Yours Sincerely,

Allison Drescher
President, SPOA

P.S. Please remember to contact Senate President Karen Spilka’s office, as well as your state senators, to thank them for being supportive of commercial taxpayers. You can reach Senator Spilka’s office at 617-722-1500 or Karen.Spilka@masssenate.gov

by Allison Drescher