City Councilor Ed Flynn (South Boston, South End, Chinatown, Downtown) today single-handedly blocked immediate action on a deal on shifting around property-tax burdens that is aimed at shielding homeowners from some potentially large increases in tax bills starting in January.

Under council rules, motions for which the mayor or councilors seek immediate action have to be approved without any no votes - such as Wu's "late filed" request for an immediate home-rule petition asking the state legislature and the governor to let Boston enact a temporary increase in the tax rate charged commercial property.

Flynn's no vote means the matter will now have to go before a council committee for a public hearing and further study before the council can vote on the matter.

City officials say timing is critical, because the council has to set tax rates in November in time for the first tax bills to go out as required in January.

Under a deal between Wu and Boston business groups, reached just this past weekend, the city would seek to increase the commercial tax rate from 175% of the residential rate at present to 181.5% next year, with that rate then decreasing back to 175% in steps over the following two years.

The goal is to protect, to some extent, residential property owners from having to pick up more of the overall city tax levy because of an expected large decrease in the valuation of commercial property downtown due to continued high office vacancy rates following the peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Although the specific amounts in the proposed home-rule petition, which include setting aside $15 million a year to cushion the increased tax rate on small businesses, are new, the basic idea is not. In fact, the council approved a measure in June asking the legislature to let Boston temporarily tweaks its commercial tax rate due to the issue.

However, Flynn voted against that proposal, calling it the start of a "urban doom loop" that would send businesses fleeing from the city - and blasting businesses that let their workers continue to work from home instead of helping support the city by forcing them back to their downtown offices. Flynn called for a blue-ribbon commission to study how to raise revenue without meddling with the tax rates.

Flynn did not explain his vote today, nor did Council President Ruthzee Louijeune allow any discussion of the matter.

Flynn has become an adroit wielder of the unanimous-vote requirement.

In February, Flynn used the single-nay rule to block an immediate vote on acceptance of a relatively small public-safety grant, ostensibly so four newly elected councilors could first get up to speed on the measure, and over the objections of its sponsor, Councilor Brian Worrell (Dorchester), who said it was needed immediately to help support critical work being done by the city's Emergency Operations Center.

That vote came just a week after Flynn demanded and got an immediate vote on a much larger public-safety grant that had been defeated in a tie vote in December over concerns about the impact of surveillance and counter-terrorism efforts on Black and Brown communities. The vote to accept that grant without a hearing was not unanimous, but two councilors voted "present" rather than no.