HOLDEN — Tax bills are going up. That is not necessarily news, but the average $250 increase “is definitely palatable,” Selectman Anthony Renzoni said as the Select Board voted for a single tax rate.
The single tax rate treats all property the same, Principal Assessor Rosemary Sculley told the board.
Since 95% of the town is residential, taxes for businesses would have to rise substantially to make any difference in the residential rates under the split rate option.
“The town’s total value is up substantially since last year,” Sculley said, noting a 14.5% increase.
The tax rate, which is actually just a multiplier used for calculating bills after valuation and spending is added to the formula, is projected to come out at $14.99 for the year. Last year the rate was $16.56. The final figure has to be approved by the state Department of Revenue and then can be used to start preparing for tax bills to be mailed out by the tax collector.
“That’s significantly less than last year’s,” Sculley said of the expected rate.
But that does not mean the tax bills will drop.
Because the average single family home rose from $385,361 last year to $442,480 this year, the tax rate drops to accommodate the value change.
Taxes can rise by the Proposition
2Vi cap, plus added growth and any borrowing such as debt exclusions for capital projects. That determines the amount that can be raised by taxes. That is plugged into the formula that includes overall valuations, and the math spits out the tax rate.
The tax rate then is used to calculate individual tax bills.
In the end, the most important part of the math is the tax bill. And that is going up by about $250 for the average home.
Last year’s average bill was $6,381, Sculley said. This year’s average bill wil be $6,632, rising by $251.
But every home value is different. A homeowner can do the math: Home valuation times the tax rate will generate the tax bill for the year.
Noting the benefit of the single tax rate, Selectman Richard Bates asked how long the town had had a single tax rate.
“Forever” was the consensus. A single tax rate is viewed as helping businesses, since it does not impose higher taxes for commercial and farming.
“Holden is very business friendly,” Renzoni said.
And Holden is open to more business if it had someplace to put it.
“Our business district is about as packed as we can get,” Town Manager Peter Lukes said. “We have to constantly turn people away” because of the lack of space in the business-zoned areas.
