Gloucester City Council Approves Tax Title Fund, Hears $218 Million Sewer Financing Plan

GLOUCESTER -- April 28, 2026, Gloucester City Council hears $218 million wastewater plant financing plan and votes to create a tax title collection fund. CFO Connor McCorkle told councilors Tuesday that the mandated wastewater treatment plant upgrade, the largest capital project in city history, will cost approximately $218 million in total, with a $206 million loan order financed through the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust at a 2 percent interest rate and an assumed 23 percent principal forgiveness. Debt service is projected to peak at roughly $10 million per year around fiscal year 2031, nearly matching the sewer enterprise fund's entire annual budget of $12 million. McCorkle presented a policy choice between shifting debt costs onto the broader property tax levy or concentrating them on sewer ratepayers, telling the council a household using 11,000 gallons per month could save $223 per year at a 100 percent debt shift. The council separately voted 7-0 to amend the city's revolving funds ordinance to add a dedicated tax title collection account, covering approximately 70 to 90 properties expected to enter tax title status this fiscal year, and confirmed Jesse Dole, Beverly's assistant city solicitor, to the Board of Health.