Brass Tacks

Last week, Mayor Hynes proposed one of the highest city tax rates in the country, $72 per thousand. His campaign speeches had promised to keep the tax rate steady by a $1.5 million saving in expenditures, but decreasing property assessments and expanding services have prohibited this.

In 1950, assessments amounted to $1.5 billion, which was $35 million lower than the year before, and $400 million less than the peak year of 1939. This decrease was primarily due to the city's old age; Boston did most of its building from 40 to 80 years ago. As the price of living rises, property valuation should follow. Inflation has raised the value of Boston property, but depreciation has lowered it even more.

Pittsburgh, when faced with the same problem, put on a campaign to rebuild large sections of its city and to attract new business. But in Boston deterioration is far ahead of new construction. The only way out is demolishing old buildings and replacing them with more valuable structures. At the present, the business groups who could do this are staying away from Boston. This is partly due to soft land, which forces companies to build larger foundations than usual, and to Boston's crazy street layout.

While assessments are low, city costs have gone up some 60 percent since 1945. Inflation accounts for about half of this, and the remaining represents new expenditures. People who work in Boston but do not pay taxes there raise the cost of items like police protection and traffic control. Since the war, many Bostonians have moved into the suburbs, which means that the city has to provide more fees services. The police and fire departments five-day week and Boston's large share of the MTA's yearly deficit have also been expensive. There have been inerased wages for city employees, and more old-age assistance, etc. With costs going up and assessments going down, the tax rate is bound to rise.

This is true whether the administration is honest or not, but grubby politics have aggravated the problem. When the depression drove prices down to absurdly low levels, assessments followed. When prices rose again, the valuation of residential buildings stayed where it was. Even then, abatements came easily if a property-holder knew the right people. The fee for this graft was high, but well worth it. The Politicians used to overassess business property in order to lower the tax rate, and then grant wholesale abatements. The voters are impressed with the low rate, but the city cannot meet its expenses. The debt has mounted up through the years to over $100 million. Although the Board of Assessors' new chairman, David L. Driscoll, has largely eliminated this racket, and Hynes has retired a small part of the debt, the deficit is still large.

But the political side of the tax problem is only incidental to the main issue of low assessments and rising costs. It will take more than two years of honest officials to hold down Boston's tax rate.