On a 7-degree day, Jan. 21, members showed up bright and early for the monthly West Roxbury Business Professional Association (WRBPA) meeting where President Jim Hennigan lamented that newly-elected Council President Liz Breadon’s absence as featured speaker was due to transition duties.

The role of city council president deserves a story in itself, as a few candidates battled for the spot but in a clandestine late-night meeting Breadon secured the role, with support from the mayor.

Taking her place as featured speaker at the Corrib Pub in West Roxbury, District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber provided a short talk and then entered into a debate/civics class with a couple of members on two significant issues: a residential property tax increase and on undocumented workers’ rights to free healthcare. Weber stood his ground by saying he was not familiar with some of the strong remarks made and appeared to attempt to de-escalate and present balanced views.

First, Weber mentioned that one of the first things a city council president does is assign committee chairs and since Breadon’s leadership has changed, he is now the new chair of the Ways & Means Committee, which involves oversight of the city budget.

“(Former Boston Mayor Thomas) Menino invented this position of being chair of this committee and it really taught him how the city worked,” he said. “So I really want to be able to have that view in to how our city works, how we are bringing in revenue, and how we are spending money. I think it’s going to be a crucial issue to work on over the next two years because we have issues with taxes and loss of federal aid.”

Only last year Weber and At-Large City Councilor Erin Murphy fought for funding toward another day of programming for seniors at the Boston Elks Lodge Senior Pilot Program, now run in partnership with Ethosoff of Spring Street in the neighborhood. Now that he is chair, he said he is excited to have more influence in helping Bostonians meet their needs and goals. City budget proposals occur in April and are later voted on in June. Savings rather than additions will be the budget’s aim, Weber said. To illustrate his point, he mentioned the Boston Public Schools system is under a hiring freeze in order to stay on budget.

Before Weber could escape from the spotlight, Jack Flanagan, a longtime West Roxbury resident, raised his hand and launched into a critique of Mayor Michelle Wu, particularly on residential property taxes.

Wu’s proposal to slightly lower the tax burden was shot down in the state senate.

“Senior citizens out here are getting hammered. The tax burden has crippled senior citizens, who are a large share of homeowners in Boston. Only 35 percent of Bostonians are homeowners,” Flanagan said (and that is the number put out by the city). Due to the unfair tax burden, he asked what Wu was doing about the roughly $500 million in excess funds. Two state house representatives are proposing legislation to relieve the tax burden, and Flanagan wanted to know if Breadon and Weber were behind that.

Earlier, before the end of the year, Boston city councilors filed a home-rule petition to lower residents’ tax bills by slowing the rate of decrease of commercial property taxes and using those savings as relief for residential property taxes. “I thought it was a good proposal. Senator Rush brought it before the senate and it failed 33-5,” Weber said, referring to Wu’s proposal. In regard to the current legislation, he said he supports parts of the package.

Weber’s issue is that the state is proposing tax relief without a way to pay for it, which he does not favor. “If we have tax cuts without a way to pay for them, that is going to likely result in pay cuts or layoffs for service workers like police officers and EMS workers.”

Flanagan again asked if Bostonians had rights to the $500 million in excess funds. Weber called it a rainy day fund to use for things like overtime pay of a Super Bowl parade, which cannot be planned for in advance. Flanagan then asked if Wu has a backup plan, as the rising tax costs are not sustainable. Weber countered by saying the value of residential property is going up, so while the tax burden is higher, the actual value of homes is also up and unfortunately, residents will only enjoy that benefit when homes get sold.

Weber also said Boston is different from cities like Seattle who can increase tax revenue through other means, other than real estate. Due to history involving anti-Irish bias in the statehouse, generating tax revenue is much more restrictive in Boston than other places, Weber said. “We are stuck in this real estate revenue place, and commercial property values are going down while residential property values are going up.”

Advertisement

Weber expressed frustration with the state senate for giving commercial landlords a break at the expense of Boston residents. “I don’t know why they took that tactic. I feel like we gave them reasonable options.”

Weber concluded by saying he would look into ways of reallocating funds before Hennigan urged momentum of the meeting.

Without sugarcoating her question, Marilyn Cushing, an 84-year-old West Roxbury resident, asked how much money taxpayers were spending on health insurance for “illegal aliens.”

“No one will answer this question,” she said. “I’ve worked since I was 14. I’ve paid my dues. I don’t like paying someone else’s dues. This is very serious and no one will answer, not even the mayor.”

Before allowing Weber to speak, she said she did not want to see anyone go hungry or cold but everyone should follow the legal process.

Weber summed up his response by saying that, regardless of views on immigration, immigrants, illegal or otherwise, add to the economy, according to the data. Cushing asked how many are working, to which Weber replied “many.”

Cushing then said many are not working and that Weber knew this too. Weber said he honestly did not know that. But he did offer that during his time in Tennessee this issue came up at a hearing, and a healthcare executive said not a lot of money went to illegal immigrants as their concerns were short-term – for example, pregnancies or injuries – not prolonged cancer treatments.

Lightening the mood, Frank Barone spoke enthusiastically about his new franchise of Woofgang Bakery and Grooming in the Star Market plaza on Centre Street, in place of the old Edible Arrangements. Hennigan joked about his terrier being so difficult it was banned from three separate grooming facilities so he wouldn’t inflict his moody pet on the new pet grooming and bakery business.

Barone grew up and continues to live in Dedham and coaches sports teams. He worked at Dunkin’ brands for 20 years, running their analytics department. After COVID he worked at Planet Fitness and after working for major corporations, he said it was time to follow his passion and he loves pets.

“It’s grooming for dogs, but it’s set up like a spa. We offer blueberry facials,” he said to a room of laughter. “Cookies, muffins all dedicated to dogs. A farmer’s market too. We’re just trying to make it nice for the community.” Woofgang opened its doors in early December and hopes to do partnerships with other local businesses.