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Devens tax savings? ‘Color me incredulous’

by James Geller  ·   Friday, February 6, 2026

Victor Normand states that Harvard residential tax rates could drop from $15.87 per $1,000 to $12.26 if only Harvard resumed jurisdiction over its historical lands in Devens.

Using Harvard’s fiscal year 2026 residential property valuations totaling $1.828 billion, a drop of $3.61 in the tax rate would result in a drop of $6.6 million in tax revenues collected from Harvard residents. Under Victor’s scenario, tax revenues would also decline from Devens residents albeit to a much lesser degree.

Offsetting these revenue declines, but only to the degree of $1.1 million, would be the addition of the personal property tax for Devens’ businesses. That leaves an unfunded gap of approximately $5.5 million absent any other change.

To make this work, Victor’s numbers imply large unspecified synergies to be gained by putting Harvard and Devens together. In my experience, synergies are highly speculative and frequently a euphemism for personnel layoffs and service cuts. Color me incredulous.

James Geller
Walnut Street, Devens

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