Gloucester City Council Tuesday: public hearing on the tax split, a sewer plant upgrade briefing and $270,300 in state grants

Gloucester's City Council meets Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 6:30 p.m. in Kyrouz Auditorium at City Hall, with the yearly public hearing on how the property tax is split between homes and businesses at the top of its business. The public can attend in person or on Zoom (meeting ID 860 0181 2680, or by phone at 309-205-3325 or 312-626-6799).

What is on the agenda

• Tax classification hearing. The council holds its public hearing on the principal assessor's tax classification memo. Its Budget and Finance Committee voted 3 to 0 on Oct. 22 to recommend the same 1.03 shift onto commercial, industrial and personal property that the city has used since fiscal 2017. With that shift, estimated rates are $9.03 per $1,000 of value for homes and $9.33 for businesses, down from $9.31 and $9.61 this year. (Read what the committee heard.)
• Newspaper notice of fees. A hearing on an ordinance change filed by Council President Tony Gross would delete the words "and published in a local newspaper whenever fee changes or new fees are approved by the City Council" from the section of city ordinances on fees.
• Coastal lot size change, to be withdrawn. The hearing on doubling the minimum lot area per home in the RC-40 Coastal Residential district, from 20,000 to 40,000 square feet, is marked "To be Withdrawn." (Read about the committee vote.)
• Sewer plant upgrade. Bob Parsons of TetraTech and Eric Kelley of Apex give a presentation on the secondary treatment upgrade at the wastewater treatment plant.
• State grants and donations. The council votes on Budget and Finance recommendations, including a $132,000 Massachusetts Downtown Initiative grant for downtown signs and the HarborWalk, a $124,300 Housing Choice grant, a $14,000 Mass Cultural Council grant and donations to Veterans Services, the Archives and a police youth fishing program.
• Fisheries Commission. Confirmation of Angela Sanfilippo to the Fisheries Commission, for a term to Feb. 15, 2029.

New items going to committees

• A grant of $24,476 for the Police Department's fiscal 2027 traffic court program, from the interim police chief.
• A memo from the Gloucester Contributory Retirement System Board on a cost of living increase.
• A change to the zoning rules on lot size and other dimensions for multifamily homes, Section 3.2.2, sent to the Planning and Development Committee and the Planning Board.
• A National Grid request to add a utility pole on Madison Avenue, about 120 feet west of Acacia Street.

The Middle Street Walk street closure on Saturday, Dec. 12, appears as information only.

How to take part

The agenda has time for oral communications near the start of the meeting, and residents can speak at each public hearing. The next regular council meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10. A hearing on accepting Deacon Farm Lane as a public way is set for Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Earlier coverage: Gloucester committee backs keeping the same tax split for homes and businesses (Oct. 24), the tax split numbers and the grant debate; Gloucester council committee drops the coastal lot size change, OKs Middle Street Walk closure for Dec. 12 (Oct. 24).