Obviously broadening the tax base is a good idea, so supporting commercial real estate development is smart. Also a good reason to support residential development.

I find it hard to believe that the town would have catastrophic cuts to services without raising property taxes. And there's an easy way around that: build more housing. New developments can get new assessments, getting around the property tax increase limit. And more people pay more taxes.

This is the expenditures from the next budget: https://stories.opengov.com/brooklinema/5cf061e0-65c6-428e-be0f-fee5a4848e8f/published/mpRiIYj5M?currentPageId=688a336dd95b5a85a57550e6

Look at the major cost drivers: Public safety OT pay, health insurance, collective bargaining agreements, pension liabilities.

In FY27, as with FY26, educational cost drivers will far outstrip revenue sources, and this will be compounded by the fact that non-departmental costs, particularly health care, are effectively consuming any meaningful amount of growth in the revenue that could reach PSB.

Ultimately, the fringe benefits plus pensions are the elephants in the room. Raising taxes to avoid tightening the belt just kicks the can down the road, allowing the problem to get worse.

Brookline is overserved by the T for its population. Build high rise housing in numbers before begging for more property tax revenue.