Fall River council keeps 1.75 business tax shift 8-1, and the average home bill is estimated to rise $160
Rates are expected to dip a penny for homes and 12 cents for businesses, but rising values push the average home bill up. The council also accepted a $425,000 playground grant and sent the Pearl Street garage sale to committee.
FALL RIVER Fall River will again shift part of its property tax from homes onto business property, after the City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday night, Nov. 10, to keep the 1.75 tax shift for fiscal 2027.
The Board of Assessors estimates the residential rate at $11.47 per $1,000 of value, a penny below this year's $11.48, and the commercial and industrial rate at $23.46, down from $23.58. The rates are estimates until the state Department of Revenue approves them. Because the average single-family home is now valued at $419,477, up from $405,164, its yearly bill would rise to about $4,811, roughly $160 more than this year's $4,651, according to the assessors' figures in the council's packet.
Councilor Michael G. Canuel noted during the hearing that the rates themselves go down by a penny for homes and 12 cents for businesses if the council adopts the shift, and that the bigger change is in rising valuations, and Administrator of Assessing Daniel R. Lane agreed.
The vote
The council took two roll calls, the first adopting a residential factor of 85.5593, the figure that matches a 1.75 shift, and the second setting each class's share of the levy: 71.7453% for residential property, 12.4495% for commercial, 8.0323% for industrial and 7.7728% for personal property. Councilors Shawn E. Cadime, Joseph D. Camara, Michael G. Canuel, Paul B. Hart, Linda M. Pereira and Andrew J. Raposo, Vice President Michelle M. Dionne and President Cliff A. Ponte voted yes both times, and Councilor Christopher M. Peckham Sr. voted no both times.
The assessors had voted unanimously on Thursday, Nov. 5, to recommend keeping the shift at 1.75, Lane told the council, which he said is what the city has done in the past. A shift moves part of the tax from homes onto business property, and Dionne said 1.75 gives homeowners the lowest residential rate the city can set.
What it means for a bill
With a single rate for every class, the rate would have been $13.41, Lane said. At that rate the average single-family home would pay about $5,625, roughly $814 more than under the split, by our math from the assessors' estimates. The packet's table shows how a smaller shift would have moved bills: at 1.65, the average home would pay about $4,920, or $109 more than at 1.75, while a $1 million commercial property would pay $22,120 instead of $23,460.
At the estimated rate, each $100,000 of home value carries about $1,147 in tax a year. A commercial property valued at $1 million would pay about $23,460, roughly $120 less than this year at the same value, according to the packet. For comparison, the packet lists this year's residential rates of $10.95 in New Bedford, $11.14 in Taunton, $12.39 in Swansea and $12.93 in Somerset, with average bills of $4,653, $5,540, $5,623 and $6,278.
The payment due Monday, Feb. 1, 2027, is the first to carry the fiscal 2027 rate, as SC360 reported when the assessors made their recommendation.
New growth and the overlay
New construction and new taxable property added about $2.36 million to what the city may raise, according to the assessors' new growth sheet, down from $2.59 million last year, Lane said. He tied the drop to utility work winding down, with Liberty Gas nearing the end of its gas line replacements, and said roughly 30 new homes were finished this year, about in line with last year.
The city set aside $1.4 million this fiscal year in its overlay, the account that covers abatements and exemptions, Lane said. As of Friday, Nov. 6, the assessors had approved 741 exemptions worth about $750,000, and he projected the total would come closer to $1 million this year.
Exemptions residents can still claim
Lane said residents have until April 1, 2027, to apply for exemptions. Veterans rated 10% to 99% disabled receive $800, up from $400 two years ago, and veterans rated 100% disabled receive $2,000. The senior exemption for residents 65 and older who meet income and asset limits is $750, up from $500, the assessors told the council. A blind exemption is $500 and a widow's exemption is $180. The city does not offer a small business exemption, the assessors said.
This year 171 veterans receive the $800 exemption and 126 receive the $2,000 exemption, while 353 seniors receive the $750 exemption, worth $264,750 in all, Lane said. Canuel said he would like the senior exemption raised to $1,000 in the next fiscal year and said he would follow with a motion or resolution.
What else the council did
- Accepted a $425,000 state Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities grant for Mae's Playground, the sensory and disability friendly playground planned at Abbott Court Park, and adopted a resolution appropriating the full $1,010,000 project cost up front from Community Development Block Grant money, which the mayor's letter says is expected to be repaid through grants and donations.
- Authorized publication of a $2.5 million loan order for Phase 25 of the city's water system improvements and sent it to the Committee on Finance on a 9-0 roll call. Raposo asked for a report there on how many lead service lines have been removed so far.
- Raised the spending limit of the police cruiser revolving fund from $80,000 to $110,000 for fiscal 2027.
- Sent the mayor's order declaring the Pearl Street Parking Garage at 1 Pearl St. surplus to the Committee on Real Estate, Facilities and Housing, which meets Tuesday, Nov. 17.
- Sent the Third Street garage update and the first quarter budget report to the Committee on Finance.
- Revoked the two permits to store flammable materials at 300 Riggenbach Road for lack of payment, the only ones still due after the clerk's office received payments from other holders on the list.
- Sent a request for a 72-foot curb opening at 11 Dyer St. to the Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
- Granted auto repair shop licenses at 1904 Bay St. and 5 Laurel St., confirmed Grace Charron to the Library Board of Trustees and passed five new handicap parking spaces through all readings.
SC360 previewed the playground grant, the water loan and the Pearl Street garage order on Nov. 6.
Outside counsel and the chief of staff
Earlier Tuesday, the Committee on Ordinances and Legislation voted 3-2 to table a request from the city's corporation counsel to strike the section of the city code on the council's authority to hire outside legal counsel. Cadime said the council's memorandum of agreement with the administration already covers a second legal opinion and that he had agreed to support the change. Canuel said he would not support it because "we have more teeth when things are in ordinance." Pereira moved to table after saying she wanted more information. One resident spoke against the change during citizen input.
Ponte told the full council that the clerk's office has sent requests for proposals to the law firms councilors suggested for that second opinion, that three responses had come in and that the rest are due back Monday, Nov. 16. The committee also sent an ordinance moving the mayor's chief of staff to the city's list of political appointments to the full council, which passed it through first reading 9-0. Dionne called the $60,000 salary in it a placeholder until salary comparisons from other communities come back, and said the change would take effect Dec. 1.
What happens next
Under state law the council's choice also needs Mayor Paul E. Coogan's approval, and the estimated rates become final once the state Department of Revenue approves the city's fiscal 2027 tax rate. The Committee on Real Estate, Facilities and Housing takes up both downtown garages Tuesday, Nov. 17, Dionne told the council. Questions about a property's value or an exemption go to the Assessor's Office at 508-324-2300.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
The votes, the estimated rates, the exemption figures, the new growth and overlay figures and every quote come from the Fall River Government Television recordings of the Nov. 10 hearing and meetings, checked against the posted captions roll call by roll call. The average values, bills, shift options and neighboring rates come from the Board of Assessors' pages in the council's Nov. 10 packet. We read them on Nov. 10, 2026, recomputed the bills and the single rate comparison, and checked each date and weekday against a calendar. The estimated rates are not final until the state Department of Revenue approves them.
Corrections
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Sources (4)
- Fall River Government Television: 11.10.2026 Fall River City Council (public hearings from 6:01 p.m., Committee on Finance from 6:46 p.m., regular meeting from 7:15 p.m.)Posted Nov. 10, 2026; 1 hour 37 minutes. Tax classification hearing about 0:07:40 to 0:44:30; tax factor roll calls about 1:22:20 to 1:23:50; other votes 1:15:00 to 1:36:00. Read from the posted captions, which we saved and checked roll call by roll call. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- Fall River Government Television: 11.10.2026 City Council, Ordinances and LegislationPosted Nov. 10, 2026, 9:30 p.m.; 52 minutes. Chief of staff ordinance vote about 0:42:20; vote to table the outside counsel item about 0:51:39. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- City of Fall River: City Council meetings agenda, Nov. 10, 2026Clerk stamp Nov. 6, 2026, 12:55 p.m. Public hearing item 13 (tax classification); regular meeting items 1 to 32 and committee reports. Read Nov. 10, 2026.
- City of Fall River: City Council agenda packet, Nov. 10, 2026Board of Assessors letter with the Assessor's Office phone, 508-324-2300, and orders (packet pages 62 to 64), Mayor's letter on Mae's Playground at Abbott Court Park (pages 8 and 9), fiscal 2027 new growth breakdown (page 65), what if table of shift factors and bills (page 67) and neighboring communities' fiscal 2026 rates and bills (page 68). Read Nov. 10, 2026.