Chicopee to consider quarterly real estate tax billing

CHICOPEE — Mayor John Vieau recently appointed a task force team to begin reviewing and considering changes to the city’s real estate tax billing process.

According to the mayor’s office, the change would mean that the process would go from bi-annual real estate tax billing to quarterly billing.

In a press release, the city said the decision to consider this possibility comes from the recent non-binding question on the ballot from the election in November 2025.

The question was brought to the ballot after a vote from the City Council. However, it has been a discussion topic for years, after many surrounding cities and towns have implemented quarterly real estate tax billing.

During the Sept. 2, 2025, City Council meeting, the council approved adding a non-binding question to the Nov. 4 municipal ballot that would gather feedback on potentially implementing a quarterly tax payment system instead of the biannual system that is currently used.

Raj Sanghvi, a previous city collector candidate and Chicopee business owner, was the one who originally asked the council to put the question on the ballot.

Sanghvi explained, “Many of us have talked about the collection of taxes and the current payment system. While talking with residents and business owners, I have been asked why the city is not on a quarterly payment system like our neighboring cities and towns. They indicated that it is difficult to pay two large bills every year and would prefer lower quarterly bills. The quarterly payment process would be easier for budgeting and would better match their cash receipts.”

He researched what other communities were doing for tax payments and discovered that all of Chicopee’s neighboring communities have quarterly payments.

In November 2025, the Chicopee residents voted in favor of switching the bi-annual real estate tax billing to quarterly billing by a tally of 2,599-2,038.

The idea is, instead of getting billed twice a year, residents can budget more and control when the bigger bills are coming under a quarterly billing process.

The recently appointed task force will review requirements, resources, policies, procedures, benefits, costs, and impacts of any move from bi-annual to quarterly billing before ultimately making a recommendation on the matter.

The task force members appointed by Vieau are City Council President Frank Laflamme, City Collector Sandra Peret, City Assessor Laura McCarthy, City Treasurer Marie Laflamme, Senior System Analyst IT Tammy Shaefer, System Analyst IT Dawn Fortin, Director IT Ron Rivet, City Auditor Tiana Steffenhagen and Mayor’s Chief of Staff Michael Pise.

According to the press release from the city, the realistic timeline for implementing the change to quarterly billing would be about one calendar year, with a likely start date of Aug. 1, 2027. This change would fall within fiscal year 2028, according to the mayor’s office, which said the task force is seeking the most practical and effective solution for residents.

In addition, state guidelines outline specific billing procedures, due date requirements, and approval processes that municipalities must follow when implementing a quarterly tax system, adding further complexity to the transition, according to the city.

For more information on quarterly billing, the mayor’s office said in the press release that they encourage residents to visit the Division of Local Services website at mass.gov.