WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester City Council voted to set the FY2021 tax rates. 

The Council used $1 million through a tax levy reduction to lower the overall rates.

Councilor Moe Bergman says the majority of the Council supported a line they believed better protected homeowners, while hopefully not hurting local businesses.

The FY2021 tax rates are set at $16.28 per $1,000 assessed valuation for residential properties, and $36.20 per $1,000 assessed valuation for commercial property.

The average residential tax payers bill will increase by $144, while the average commercial property owner will see an increase of more than $1,100.

Bergman said, “You look at the commercial rates, they've stayed relatively flat as far as value. So even if their rate goes up their taxes go up, but they don't go up as dramatically as you'd think. With residential property owners we are talking about condominium owners, when we say residential single family owners, two families and three families they've gone up. Three- families have gone up close to 20 percent, so even if the rate goes up a little bit on the residential sid, when you multiply that out by the increase in value, you get a dramatic increase for the residential property owners."

The new tax rates are lower for homeowners than last year but are an increase for commercial owners.

The first quarter tax bills will go out around the first of January, and will be due on February 1.