“The University is a fat target,” Grogan adds.

The University’s recent purchase of the 30-acre Arsenal complex as potential “swing-space” for moving offices during its development in Allston has brought city politics to the forefront in Watertown. Politicians in the town have criticized Harvard for not offering higher payment in-lieu-of taxes to Watertown to offset loss of property taxes caused by Harvard’s non-profit status.

“This is a huge overreach of their purported tax exempt status,” said Watertown Town Manager Michael Driscoll at a rally against Harvard three weeks ago. “To take this action will cripple the financial stability of this community.”

Driscoll says the property would have generated $4.8 million per year in property tax revenue if Harvard had not purchased it and says the University’s payment should at least equal that amount.

“We’ve waited over 200 years to bring this property onto our tax base,” Driscoll says. “All we want is for Harvard to pay its fair share. No more, no less.”

According to Watertown officials, the loss of tax revenue will hurt Watertown schools the most, since the school budget is funded through property taxes.

“Any decrease is our tax base will amount to a decrease in our school’s budget,” says Watertown school committee chair Anthony P. Paolillo.

And just as in Riverside, history plays a major part in the battle in Watertown, as residents feel they are entitled to receive more from the land after investing $100 million of federal, state and local money to clean toxic waste from the property, allowing it to be developed into a home for Internet and consulting firms over the last several years.

“We put $100 million into this site to clean and ready it for economic development,” says Mark E. Boyle, Watertown’s director of planning and development.

Harvard has currently offered sliding scale payments of $2.7 million for 20 years—an offer that Watertown has rejected as too low, leading them to file a home rule petition with the Mass. state legislature calling for full tax payments.

Watertown officials also want a permanent agreement, instead of one that ends after 20 years.

University officials say they are still working to form a payment agreement but say that a permanent agreement is not likely.

“We want the right to renegotiate after some interval,” Grogan says. “Circumstances do change.”

And while University officials say they understand Watertown concerns, Grogan points out that Harvard technically doesn’t have to pay the town anything.

“We’re letting go an unassailable right,” Grogan says of Harvard’s willingness to make payments in lieu of taxes, even though it has tax exemption.