Bridgewater council weighs single tax rate, senior relief and a bid to remove the town manager Tuesday
Town Manager Justin Casanova-Davis would keep one tax rate for homes and businesses, while a councilor's resolution to remove him gets its first reading.
Bridgewater's Town Council takes up next year's tax split, two new forms of property tax help for seniors and a councilor's resolution to remove Town Manager Justin Casanova-Davis when it meets Tuesday night, according to the agenda and packet posted for the meeting.
The council meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, in the Council Chambers on the second floor of the Academy Building, 66 Central Square. The meeting streams live on YouTube, with the link posted on the town's Facebook page, the agenda says.
One tax rate for everyone
Casanova-Davis has asked the council to adopt a residential factor of 1 for fiscal 2027, which means homes, businesses, industry and personal property would all pay the same tax rate. Bridgewater has used a single rate for at least the last four years, according to the state Division of Local Services, which lists the fiscal 2026 rate at $12.03 per $1,000 of value for every class.
The factor decides how the tax load is split among classes of property, not how much the town raises in total. In fiscal 2026, the average single-family home, valued at $616,769, paid $7,420, up $393, or about 5.6%, from fiscal 2025, the state's figures show.
The order is on its second reading, and the packet marks it for a vote to send it to advertising. The council holds a public classification hearing each year after the assessors' values are approved by the state Department of Revenue, and its vote may come at the hearing or at a later meeting, according to the town's assessing office. The council may also consider an open space discount, a residential exemption and a small commercial exemption as part of that process, though none is part of the order on Tuesday's agenda. The Finance Committee takes up the tax order Monday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. on Zoom, and the council's Budget and Finance Committee meets on it at 6 p.m. Tuesday in Conference Room 201A of the Academy Building.
Help for seniors
Bridgewater has already accepted the state's senior work-off program, which lets residents older than 60 volunteer for the town in exchange for a cut in their property tax bill of up to $2,000 a year, and a veterans version worth up to $1,500, according to the assessing office. The council is on its third reading of an ordinance setting local rules for the senior program starting in fiscal 2027. Under the rules, work is credited at the state minimum wage, a volunteer must have lived in the home for five years, no one may work more than three years in a row unless no other applicant can do the job, and an approved representative may do the work for a senior who is physically unable to. The Finance Committee voted Oct. 19 to recommend it, and the Budget and Finance Committee did so Sept. 29. The packet marks it for a vote to send it to advertising.
Councilor Mary McGrath has filed two ordinances for a first reading. One would accept state options that lower the age for the Clause 41C senior exemption from 70 to 65, raise the exemption by 50%, and raise the income limits to $20,000 for a single person and $30,000 for a married couple and the asset limits to $40,000 and $55,000. The other would raise the Clause 17D exemption for seniors, surviving spouses and minor children each year by 100% of the rise in the Consumer Price Index. Both would start in fiscal 2028 and would be sent to the Budget and Finance and Finance committees, according to the packet. Questions about exemptions and the work-off program go to the assessing office at 508-697-0928.
Removal resolution
Councilor Michaela Spagone introduced a resolution, titled Our United Stance on Town Executive Removal, that would have the council act under Section 4-8 of the town charter to remove Casanova-Davis effective Nov. 17. In its own words, the resolution says "there have been questions as to the professional integrity of the Town Manager," that he "has frequently and inadequately accounted for, or not summarily explained their time off used," that he "has not sufficiently been able to accurately inform, warn, and explain various matters to the public and to the Town Council," that he "has been unwilling to answer questions from the public regarding water, intermunicipal agreements and operations," that he "continues to demonstrate a level of secrecy, obstruction and misinformation," and that residents "have lost confidence" in him.
The resolution is listed as a first reading and not for action, with a voice vote to keep it at the council. Section 4-8 requires the council to first adopt a preliminary resolution of removal by a majority of the full nine-member council, which may also suspend the manager for up to 30 days. The manager may ask for a written statement of the reasons and may request a public hearing within five days of receiving the preliminary resolution, and that hearing must be held within 20 days. A final resolution of removal also takes a majority of the full council, and the manager keeps receiving a salary until a final removal takes effect unless provided otherwise, the charter says.
McGrath also filed a resolution, on first reading, stating that the council did not deliberate on or direct statements Spagone made about Casanova-Davis on a public Bridgewater Facebook page and on NBC Channel 10 News, that they are not a statement of the council, and that the council "does not support the actions or statements of Councilor Spagone."
Separately, the council is set to vote on an order from Council President Paul Murphy listing goals it wants Casanova-Davis to finish before the end of fiscal 2027, among them a balanced fiscal 2028 budget, an updated drinking water improvement plan and a roadway repair plan.
South Shore 360 asked Casanova-Davis for comment on the resolution and will add any response.
Downtown and the rest of the agenda
The council holds a public hearing on an order declaring the downtown corridor a blighted area under state urban renewal law, Chapter 121B. The order says most downtown buildings are deteriorating, some are empty and others violate local codes. Councilors also have first readings of zoning changes setting property upkeep standards for Central Square and changing the Aquifer Protection District to address paved and roofed surfaces that cut recharge to the aquifers feeding the Bridgewater and Raynham wells, plus a $72,505 Community Preservation transfer for library windows and railings.
The council is set to fill an Override Exploration Ad Hoc Committee with members from the Finance Committee, the council, the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School Committee and residents. Casanova-Davis's report lists a water update and prison mitigation funds.
Residents may speak during the Citizen Open Forum and Citizen Comments, and the council takes email through the Email the Town Council link on its page at bridgewaterma.gov.
Label: Reported by us.
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Sources (6)
- Town Council agenda and meeting packet, Nov. 17, 2026, Town of Bridgewater
- Budget and Finance Committee agenda, Nov. 17, 2026, and Finance Committee agenda, Nov. 16, 2026, Town of Bridgewater
- Town of Bridgewater Home Rule Charter, Sections 2-1 and 4-8
- Town Council page, Town of Bridgewater
- Tax Classification and SAVE and Veterans Programs pages, Bridgewater Assessing DepartmentAlso bridgewaterma.gov/services/assessing/save_veterans_programs.php
- Tax rates by class and average single-family tax bills, Massachusetts Division of Local Services Municipal Databank