Enter your home's assessed value to estimate your annual tax increase from the override. You can look up your assessed value on the Town Assessor's website.
| Assessed Value | Current Annual Tax* | Override Increase / Year | Per Month |
|---|
Brookline's FY2026 residential tax rate is $10.24 per $1,000 of assessed value — a nominal rate of 1.024%. But because Brookline offers a residential exemption (deducting $354,974 from your taxable value), owner-occupants pay an even lower effective rate.
For the median single-family home (~$2.04M assessed), the effective rate with the exemption is approximately 0.85%. That's lower than most nearby municipalities:
| Municipality | FY2026 Residential Rate | Res. Exemption? | Effective Rate* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | $12.40/1,000 | Yes (35%) | ~0.81%† |
| Brookline | $10.24/1,000 | Yes (20%) | ~0.85% |
| Cambridge | $6.67/1,000 | Yes (30%) | ~0.47%† |
| Newton | $9.69/1,000 | No | 0.97% |
| Stoneham | $10.06/1,000 | No | 1.01% |
| Arlington | $10.67/1,000 | No | 1.07% |
| Somerville | $10.98/1,000 | Yes | ~0.77%† |
| Belmont | $11.51/1,000 | No | 1.15% |
| Melrose | $11.46/1,000 | No | 1.15% |
Massachusetts law (Proposition 2½) limits annual property tax increases to 2.5% plus new growth (~1% in Brookline). But the town's actual costs — driven by salaries, health insurance (up 12%/year), special education, and inflation — are growing at 5–7% per year. This creates a gap that widens every year.
Projected FY27 non-enterprise revenue is $440.2M (a 4.9% increase over FY26), of which $349.5M is property tax levy — the town remains overwhelmingly dependent on property taxes. The Governor's budget provided only 2.5% growth in Unrestricted General Government Aid and 2.9% in Chapter 70 school aid.
This isn't about new programs. The town administrator called this "a Corolla, not a Cadillac" override — it maintains existing services.
In 2023, Brookline passed an $11.98M override (61% Yes) — $6.985M for schools, $4.995M for town departments, phased over 3 years. But costs grew faster than projected — health insurance alone rose 12% annually — so the gap has reopened. This is structural, and will keep recurring every 3 years until the state changes Prop 2½. Nearly every municipality in Massachusetts is facing the same crunch right now.
Brookline's proposed override is large in absolute dollars but moderate as a percentage of its tax levy — and Brookline's underlying tax rate is already among the lowest in the metro area. Even after the override, Brookline homeowners with the residential exemption would pay an effective rate (~0.91%) below Arlington (1.07%), Belmont (1.15%), Melrose (1.15%), and Stoneham (1.01%).
| Municipality | Override Amount | % of Tax Levy | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose (Nov '25) | $13.5M | 17.5% | |
| Stoneham (Dec '25) | $9.3M | 13.1% | |
| Arlington (Mar '26) | $14.8M | 8.6% | |
| Brookline (proposed) | ~$23.3M | ~6.7% | |
| Brookline (2023) | $11.98M | 4.2% |
The override is permanent but typically phased over three fiscal years. The exact year-by-year split is still being determined — the Town Administrator and Select Board are discussing whether to front-load, phase evenly, or use another approach. Here's one possible scenario:
The expected school override ask is approximately $18M over three years. The FY2027 Financial Plan projected a three-year gap of $19.8M as of February 12, 2026, but the final number reflects revised staff recommendations. Even after the town applied its share of revenue increases and shared-cost reductions, the schools started FY27 with a gap of $6.4M. The schools aren't asking for extravagant increases — costs are driven by health insurance (+12%/yr), special education mandates, and contractual salary increases. The schools have already made cuts: eliminated the equity office, slashed world language, and approved a first round of FY27 reductions.
Some residents ask why schools need more funding when enrollment dipped post-pandemic. The answer: the dip is temporary. A 2023 Cropper-McKibben demographic study projects enrollment bottoming out in 2026–27, then climbing back toward pre-pandemic levels over the following six years.
| 19–20 | 22–23 | 26–27 | 28–29 | 30–31 | 33–34 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-K–12 | 7,762 | 7,039 | 6,917 | 6,933 | 7,118 | 7,444 |
| K–8 | 5,446 | 4,716 | 4,588 | 4,659 | 4,733 | 5,075 |
| 9–12 | 2,064 | 2,066 | 2,073 | 2,018 | 2,129 | 2,113 |
The Town Administrator has proposed a separate ~$5.3M override for municipal (non-school) departments, phased over three fiscal years. This is less in real dollars than the municipal share of the 2023 override. Here's what it covers:
| Dept | Item | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple | Continuity of Service | $1,245,000 |
| Fire | New Contract | $910,000 |
| Fire | Overtime Deficit | $800,000 |
| DPW | Sustainability, Tree Protection, Unfunded Programs | $625,000 |
| Police | Restoring 6 Officer Positions (ending hiring freeze) | $600,000 |
| Multiple | Collective Bargaining Reserve | $350,000 |
| Police | Case Management Software, Command Staff Salary | $300,000 |
| COA | Senior Center Transportation & Admin Support | $175,000 |
| Building | Building Maintenance/Trades Staffing | $150,000 |
| IT | Federally Funded Licenses Continuation | $125,000 |
| Clerk | Senior Clerk-Typist PT/FT Shift | $30,000 |
| TOTAL MUNICIPAL OVERRIDE | $5,310,000 |
The town is overwhelmingly dependent on property taxes — they make up 79.4% of General Fund revenues. The rest comes from local receipts (8.5%), state aid (6.1%), free cash, and other funds. The Governor's budget provided only 2.5% growth in unrestricted state aid and 2.9% in Chapter 70 school aid.
| Revenue Source | FY2026 | FY2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property Tax | $332,554,581 | $349,452,499 | +5.1% |
| Local Receipts | $34,886,166 | $37,633,556 | +7.9% |
| State Aid | $25,915,571 | $26,693,757 | +3.0% |
| Free Cash | $21,303,316 | $20,200,000 | -5.2% |
| Other Available Funds | $4,948,498 | $6,267,275 | +26.7% |
| Total (non-enterprise) | $419,608,131 | $440,247,086 | +4.9% |
This isn't just about schools. The override supports the full range of town services. Without it, 19 positions are eliminated across municipal departments. By FY28, the town would need to cut at least 20 firefighters and lose an active fire engine to cover the Fire Union contract.
"That's a lot of money." In percentage terms, it's a ~6.7% levy increase, phased over 3 years. Brookline's residential tax rate ($10.24/$1,000) is lower than Arlington ($10.67), Somerville ($10.98), Belmont ($11.51), Melrose ($11.46), and Boston ($12.40). With the residential exemption, Brookline's effective rate is ~0.85% — and even after the override it would be ~0.91%, still below Newton (0.97%), Stoneham (1.01%), Arlington (1.07%), and Belmont (1.15%). Melrose passed a 17.5% override in November, Stoneham 13.1% in December.
"I don't have kids in the schools." The override isn't only for schools. The municipal share (~$5.3M) funds fire department staffing, police hiring, senior transportation, tree protection, and DPW. Property values in Brookline are closely tied to the quality of all town services. The residential exemption also protects lower-valued homes disproportionately.
"Is this a spending problem?" The structural gap exists because Prop 2½ limits levy growth to ~2.5% while actual costs — driven by health insurance (+12%/yr), special education mandates, and contractual obligations — grow at 5–7%. Every municipality in Massachusetts faces this dynamic. Brookline has already made cuts: the equity office was eliminated, the world language program slashed, and multiple positions cut this year.
"Didn't we just do this?" Yes — in 2023, voters approved an $11.98M override at 61% ($6.985M schools + $4.995M town). That was a 3-year fix. The gap reopens because the underlying cost-revenue mismatch is structural under Prop 2½. This will recur every few years until the state changes the law or the town finds new revenue sources.
The 2023 override passed 61% to 39%. See precinct-level results and strategic analysis.
View 2023 Precinct Results →