WESTFIELD — Westfield is experiencing rapid growth, but city leaders say its growth is lagging behind in one key area: commercial development.
Mayor Scott Willis revealed that 90% of the city's tax revenue comes from homeowners alone, leaving the city vulnerable to economic downturns.
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"Imagine if you're a business owner and 90% of your revenue comes from one client," Willis explained. "If we have another housing crisis, Westfield will be in trouble because that is where all of our income comes from."
The heavy reliance on residential taxes means tough decisions for city leaders when home values tumble.
"Less improvement of roads [for example]," Mayor Willis highlighted. "We may have to, you know, streamline staff. There's all kinds of things we have to do to be able to get into that budget."
The revelation surprised some residents like James Kelly, who assumed the city generated more revenue from retail establishments.
"My wife goes to Clay Terrace. I'm trying to think of other places here in town," Kelly said.
Fellow resident Jeremy Lefler echoed similar sentiments about shopping outside the city.
"Our favorite place for my wife and I is the Fashion Mall," Lefler said.
City leaders are actively working to address the revenue imbalance through various commercial development projects, both large and small. These include the mixed-use Ambrose on Main project and incoming businesses like Ben's BBQ Shack.
"We've been working incredibly hard my first two years to do that," the mayor reassured. "Year one, [we had] a billion dollars of commercial investments. Year two, a half a billion dollars. We've got some things lined up in year three. We think we'll have a very strong year again."
Claire Gelinas with the city's economic development team said attracting businesses requires a collaborative approach.
"We're working heavily with the developers to market the properties, so we have a real estate sites and buildings database," Gelinas said. "Come to Westfield. We're great to work with."
You can find an interactive map of all the incoming projects and businesses coming to Westfield by clicking the link here.
