Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s property tax home rule petition remains in limbo on Beacon Hill after a meeting with state Senate President Karen Spilka, the city’s state senators, and business leaders on Thursday did not produce a compromise that the Senate would move forward for passage.
The meeting was seen as an opportunity for negotiations that could advance the proposal, similar to last minute conversations between Wu and state House leadership in the final weeks of July, in which Wu agreed to enact some changes to the measure. Following those discussions, the House unexpectedly passed the proposal, but it failed to get Senate approval in a chaotic end to formal sessions on Aug. 1. Wu, though, has publicly advocated for the Senate to pass the measure in informal session this fall.
The proposal, which has faced fierce opposition from business and real estate groups, would allow the city to shift more of the property tax burden onto commercial properties from residential properties, beyond what is currently allowed by state law, for a limited period of time. Wu has argued the tool is necessary to allow the city to ease the transition to higher property tax rates for homeowners, and avoid a significant spike in residential property tax bills next year, if commercial property values continue to drop.
As Wu and members of her finance team left the Senate President’s office just before 3:30 p.m., less than an hour and a half after arriving, Wu declined to answer reporters’ questions, simply saying, “We had a lovely, private conversation.”
Spilka called the meeting a “convening of stakeholders.”
“The Senate President has long believed that, in dealing with complex issues, it is important to get the interested parties together in a room and listen to each other,” Spilka said in a statement. “It is the Senate President’s hope that the City of Boston and the stakeholders continue these conversations going forward.”
State Senator Nick Collins, one of six state senators who represent parts of Boston and attended Thursday’s meeting, provided slightly more insight.
“There was no consensus today, some good dialogue, and we’re hoping that that continues, and if that does, that it can result in some compromises,” Collins told reporters at the State House.
Collins said a follow-up meeting was not immediately scheduled.
City officials say that without the new policy in place, residents could see as much as a 33 percent increase in their taxes from the second-quarter bill to third-quarter bill next year, if commercial values decline significantly.
But business and real estate groups have rallied together to fight Wu’s proposal, arguing the measure would hurt small businesses, unfairly burden the already struggling commercial real estate industry, and exacerbate commercial property devaluations, threatening the city’s long-term financial stability.
State Senator Lydia Edwards of East Boston, who also attended Thursday’s meeting, said the conversation was mostly between Wu and her team and the stakeholders in the room, including leadership from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, which have both expressed disapproval of Wu’s approach.
“The fact that both sides came together ... I think demonstrated goodwill on both sides wanting to move forward,” Edwards said.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.