HOLYOKE, Mass. – Veolia, the world’s leading provider of water services and environmental solutions, has entered into a new 10-year agreement to continue operation of the wastewater treatment plant for the City of Holyoke, Massachusetts, providing high standards of environmental security and professional operation for nearly 40,000 homes and businesses along the Connecticut River. Holyoke … Continued
Back in March 2025, Mayor Garcia announced that beginning July 1, 2025, a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) policy will be implemented. The purpose of the policy is to bring in a portion of the money a tax-exempt property (for example, properties owned by non-profit organizations and quasi-public institutions) would pay were it not … Continued
HOLYOKE — City Clerk Brenna Murphy Leary has announced the lineup for the upcoming Preliminary and Municipal Elections. The deadline for submitting nomination papers to get on the November 4, 2025, Municipal Election ballot was Tuesday, July 29, 2025. The ballot signals Preliminary races in Wards 1 and 5. Preliminary races occur when more than … Continued
On June 23, the City Council convened in a Special meeting to review and vote on the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget. Click to review final approved budget for FY26 in detail. In this phase of the budget process, the City Council can cut but can not add to the budget. The council made $148,838 worth of cuts which includes: $25,000 … Continued
From Mayor Joshua A. Garcia: On June 23, the City Council convened in a Special meeting to review and vote on the Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget. I will have a clean version of the updated budget on the city website soon. In this phase of the budget process, the City Council can cut but can not add … Continued
State of the City Address The public is invited to observe at the upcoming Special City Council Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 13, 6pm where I, Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, will be delivering the proposed FY26 City Budget and sharing the State of the City Address. Mayor’s Budget Narrative The proposed FY26 City of Holyoke budget reflects current revenue … Continued
The City of Holyoke will be hosting the annual 4th of July fireworks on Friday, June 27 (with a rain-date of June 29). The event will take place on the grounds of Holyoke Community College, at 303 Homestead Avenue. This event is sponsored by Holyoke Gas and Electric. And we are thankful for our partnership … Continued
“Why are my taxes so high?” Fair question! There are about three budget busters driving your high taxes but there is one in particular I want to highlight. When it comes to your property tax there’s a little-known but very substantial contributing factor: the public employee pension appropriation. Unlike public safety, schools, or roads, the … Continued
At an April City Council meeting an order was taken up and forwarded to appropriate committees (Charter and Rules Committee and Ordinance Committee) along with a 20 page document introducing a suite of changes to the city ordinances and city charter. These changes specifically aim to modernize and achieve efficiencies in how financial resources are managed. The … Continued
The Adopt-an-Island program in the City of Holyoke is a program the Mayor’s office has been organizing for decades and has been a source of pride in our community. The program welcomes residents and local businesses to voluntarily take over empty lots or “islands” in high traffic areas of the city and beautify them by … Continued
