Hi all, Did you know that the City of Boston is working on legislation to add additional registration fees for all boats moored or in a slip in Boston waters? From City Council meeting minutes on March 7, 2004: (http://www.cityofboston.gov/cityclerk/hearing/see.asp?type=mn) Docket number 0428 , The Chair stated that, in absence of objection, 4 late-filed matters would be added to the Agenda. No objection being heard, the following matter were added:Message and ordinance to establish fees for boat slips and moorings on City waterways. Referred to the Committee on Government Operations. Web page for Government operations: http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/committee.asp?ID=10 How does this effect boaters? Under the current proposal, mooring and slip registrations will be distributed from City Hall, and you must go there in person to apply or renew. To get your registration, you must establish: + Mooring fees are paid + Excise Tax is paid + Mooring has been inspected and is to code (every two years) Current moorings that are registered with the Harbor Master will go through a renewal process, Moorings not previously registered ... Don't know??? Fees $2 / boat foot, City residents $8 / boat foot, non-City residents To be in effect by May 1. Hasn't yet been finalized/voted by Boston City council. A mooring or slip registration sticker will be applied to the boat, Current buoy marking requirements and numbers will stay in effect, and a tag will be installed on the mooring (anchor or chain) when inspected. Inspection will require pulling the mooring and doing a full inspection. Moorings found without registration will be pulled and boats impounded! No Guests are allowed on Moorings. Many decades of hospitality tradition get thrown out the window to satisfy Harbormaster's concern about cheating. Quincy has similar proposal, but tabled by City council. If it goes through in Boston, will likely be established in Quincy, too. I am concerned that these changes are going to add a lot of red tape and expense for all boat owners in Boston. Having to go to city hall for mooring or slip registration is going to add some time and effort, and City Hall is going to need to staff the operation, giving justification to raising the fee down the road to cover the added overhead. This is on top of a huge increase in MA boat registration fees that went from $30 to $80 (166% increase). Who is going to do the mooring inspections? The harbor master (again, justification to raise fees to cover their costs); or are they going to have approved commercial inspectors to do inspections? Hang on to your wallet -- its going to cost a bundle. It is a $100 +/- fee for a mooring service to put your winter log out these days. A state mandated inspection that requires pulling the whole mess up is going to cost a lot more than that. If the Harbor master does it, they need 2 people and a boat with crane to do it (which I am told they now have), and that costs a few bucks to operate, too. What is the City's motive? Will this improve safety? Is it a revenue generator? It would be interesting to see the revenue and cost projections. It seems that the fees indicated won't much more than cover the added operations cost (which means they'll have to raise fees, later). Boston area boaters and yacht clubs must act now to kill this. As a fall back position, at least get a concession to allow yacht clubs to be certified for self inspection in their own mooring field to keep costs down for members. The inspections should be every 4 years (two years is too often, in my opinion). OR, instead of inspecting every mooring with government oversight, any mooring that fails is then inspected and fines levied for equipment that is not according to code. If anyone has them, please share any statistics available on: 1. How many moorings are effected by this? 2. How many slips are effected by this? 3. The number of incidents that have occurred due to failed mooring (or slip) equipment and what the impact was over the past few years? What can you do? You can send email voicing your concerns and complaints directly to the Mayor at: Mayor@ci.boston.ma.us And the members of City council at: City.Council@ci.boston.ma.us Web page for the committee of Government operations, where this currently sits: http://www.cityofboston.gov/citycouncil/committee.asp?ID=10 It lists the committee members and how to contact them. The Boston City government web site is at: http://www.cityofboston.gov/ The members of local yacht clubs, and boat owners in general, must start a serious campaign to knock this down while there is still time. This effects not only boats on moorings, but boats in slips as well. Spread the word! Fair winds, Tom
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Get Poor Charlie Off the MTA
Tom Sounds awfully familiar. Good luck, hope you beat the bas**rds. Stu
Tom Sounds awfully familiar. Good luck, hope you beat the bas**rds. Stu
There you go
I predicted that the idea of Maryland's governor to tax boaters (via slips and registration) would spread to other states. The money will probably go into the general fund and not benefit boaters at all. Contact BoatUS and get their lobbyists to pry into the politics of it.
I predicted that the idea of Maryland's governor to tax boaters (via slips and registration) would spread to other states. The money will probably go into the general fund and not benefit boaters at all. Contact BoatUS and get their lobbyists to pry into the politics of it.
Glad I keep my boat in RI
Time to move your boat to RI. No sales (sails ?) or property taxes, only a couple hundred dollars every few years for registration, and lots of great places to sail. I live in Medfield and keep my boat in Bristol. It is about an hour trip, about the same as trying to get Boston or the North Shore. Good luck, Les Murray s/v Ceilidh '86 C-36 #560
Time to move your boat to RI. No sales (sails ?) or property taxes, only a couple hundred dollars every few years for registration, and lots of great places to sail. I live in Medfield and keep my boat in Bristol. It is about an hour trip, about the same as trying to get Boston or the North Shore. Good luck, Les Murray s/v Ceilidh '86 C-36 #560
Maryland has dropped the slip fee!
I don't know about RI Les, you might not pay taxes but I hear the slip and mooring fees are HIGH. Jim S/V Java
I don't know about RI Les, you might not pay taxes but I hear the slip and mooring fees are HIGH. Jim S/V Java
slip/mooring fees
Tom, Salem, Ma has been doing that for years, I'm surprised it's taken Boston this long
Tom, Salem, Ma has been doing that for years, I'm surprised it's taken Boston this long
Inspections in Salem?
Hi Chuck, Thank you for your reply. Who does mooring inspections in Salem (Harbor master or commercial 3rd party, etc.), how much does it cost and how often are they done? What is the registration fee in Salem and is it different for non-residents? Fair winds, Tom
Hi Chuck, Thank you for your reply. Who does mooring inspections in Salem (Harbor master or commercial 3rd party, etc.), how much does it cost and how often are they done? What is the registration fee in Salem and is it different for non-residents? Fair winds, Tom
fees in Salem
Tom, Salem allows non-town inspections, and charges for moorings and slips based on the length of the boat-slips are $2 per foot, I don't remember the mooring fee, but it's a lot more-like $4/foot, no diff for residents. that's on top of the rental fees for a private mooring/slip. You have to tell the town the last inspection and the details of your mooring if you are using your own-I don't know about inspection costs (I'm in a slip). unpermitted mooring are fined $50/day. moorings cannot be reassigned or loaned/sublet except for club/commercial moorings. In addition, salem is now pasing the mooring list to the town asssessors to make sure that the excise tax is colected
Tom, Salem allows non-town inspections, and charges for moorings and slips based on the length of the boat-slips are $2 per foot, I don't remember the mooring fee, but it's a lot more-like $4/foot, no diff for residents. that's on top of the rental fees for a private mooring/slip. You have to tell the town the last inspection and the details of your mooring if you are using your own-I don't know about inspection costs (I'm in a slip). unpermitted mooring are fined $50/day. moorings cannot be reassigned or loaned/sublet except for club/commercial moorings. In addition, salem is now pasing the mooring list to the town asssessors to make sure that the excise tax is colected
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