On Saturday I went for a walk downtown and along Newburyport’s beautiful boardwalk, that runs along the mouth of the Merrimac River from the Black Cow Restaurant to the Customs House Maritime Museum.

It was as if after a long dormant winter, Newburyport, MA had come alive on this gorgeous spring day.

And I hate to say it folks, and I didn’t count the cars, but the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority lot down by the Customs House Maritime Museum was full. And all those tourists brought $$ to Newburyport, MA.

I am an artist, I do not have a Political Science degree or a Business degree, so when I blog about many of the issues on the Newburyport Blog, I often feel like a complete neophyte.

But the more I understand the fiscal crisis that Newburyport, MA is facing, the more I understand how important it is for the city of Newburyport, MA to have a commercial base.

One of the blogs I have discovered is the “Milton View.” The blog’s author, Philip Mathews, discusses many of the same problems that Newburyport, MA is confronted by. I highly recommend it.

According to the “Milton View,” Milton, MA relies almost solely on its residential property tax and has a lack of commercial development that has led to a lopsided tax base. And Milton relies on “overrides” to pay for a myriad of things.

Luckily, Newburyport has a vibrant downtown and the Industrial Park, all of which, one would assume, could help with our municipal taxes.

I’ve never paid much attention, to the “business” part of Newburyport, MA, but I guess I may start to pay more attention now. Because it appears that escalating residential property taxes may not be a long term solution for Newburyport, MA.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport