SB sets tax rate
BELCHERTOWN – The Selectboard set the tax rate last week, opting to have a residential factor of one, voting not to shift the tax burden from the residential to the commercial.
The 2024 fiscal tax rate approved by the board is $15.32.
For the average single-family home valued at $381,145, the average tax bill would be $5,839.
For the average two/three family home valued at $314,046, the tax bill would be $4,811. For an average condo valued at $279,182, the tax bill would be $4,277.
For an average commercial property valued at $514,529, the tax bill would be $7,882 and for an average industrial property valued at $191,396, the tax bill would be $2,932.
Director of Assessors John Whelihan came before the board in the tax classification hearing.
The Board of Assessors recommended the Selectboard approve a factor of one, sharing the levy to each class of property.
Whelihan said the town’s valuation is about $2.2 billion, of which the residential portion makes up 93 percent and the commercial/industry properties make up six percent.
“I started working here 25 years ago and the valuation in that time has gone from $500,000 to $2 billion, so that shows that the values have increased due to appreciation and new construction,” he said.
Whelihan explained how the tax rate was calculated.
“The total amount to be raised is about $61.1 million. The total estimated receipts from outside sources, state enterprise funds, money from fees etc. is $27.7 million, and the difference is the tax levy,” Whelihan said. “That’s the money we raise through taxation we need to spend, it’s $33.4 million.”
The levy increased by $1.2 million, which is less than last year’s increase of $1.39 million. New growth went down compared to last year going from $470,738 to $396,000.
To get the tax rate, tax levy is divided by the total valuation in town which is $15.32. The maximum allowable levy this year is $33,466,199, but Whelihan proposed $33,423,256, but wanted to leave $42,000 to be available for next year.
He said the town is in a healthy position.
“We have a cushion so if we ever needed to have an override, we have a buffer. What’s happened in cities for the last five years, the levy limit raises to the levy ceiling, that’s it. You can’t raise any additional revenue,” he said.
Selectboard Chair Ed Boscher asked how the residential and commercial valuations compare to surrounding communities. Whelihan said Northampton has 18 percent commercial and Amherst is around the same.
The Board could have opted to increase the commercial/industrial rate, which would decrease the residential rate.
Selectboard member Ron Aponte said he believed that voting for anything by a residential factor of one was “bad business.”
“It makes us very, very unmarketable to existing businesses as well as pulling businesses in. We’re in competition with other towns as Jay had indicated in his presentation,” Aponte said. “It would be disadvantageous to our marketing position.”
