Newton's tax base grew just 1.36% from new development, the lowest rate in 14 years. Mayor Marc Laredo and Chief Financial Officer Maureen Lemieux presented the figure in a five-year financial forecast to the City Council on Monday, Oct. 5, as first reported by Fig City News.

The sluggish growth comes as the city prepares to ask voters to approve debt-exclusion overrides for a slate of major building projects: a new police headquarters, renovations to Newton South High School, new Ward and Underwood elementary schools, and a new Brown Middle School backed by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

The forecast, covering fiscal years 2028 through 2032, assumes annual new growth of 1.3% going forward. Lemieux pointed to several large development projects in the pipeline as potential upside.

On the spending side, Newton Public Schools saw a $21.6 million increase in its appropriation this fiscal year, a 7.38% jump. The forecast projects school spending will grow 4.9% in each of the next two years.

Laredo told the council that each of the major building projects will require a debt-exclusion override. That means voters would need to approve temporary property tax increases to pay for construction. The City Council approved $1.25 million each in May for feasibility studies on Newton South, the police headquarters, and the Ward and Underwood schools. Those studies are expected to take 12 to 18 months.

No cost estimates are available yet.

The Brown Middle School project is in an earlier stage, described as "groundwork" for an MSBA partnership.

The forecast also addressed pension costs. Earlier in 2026, the Newton Retirement Board extended the pension system's full funding date to 2035, cutting annual contribution increases from 6.6% to 3.6%. Laredo said at the Oct. 5 meeting that the change "provided roughly $5 million in budget relief, helping us fund our ongoing pension obligations responsibly …" as the Newton Beacon reported.

As we reported Tuesday, Oct. 6, the city's plan to issue a pension obligation bond remains on hold because interest rates would push borrowing costs above 5.5%.

The City Council is scheduled to receive the Capital Improvement Plan on Monday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.