08/08/2018

Assessor commits $19.02 property-tax rate for 2019

Robust building activity in town has contributed to a fiscal 2019 property-tax rate lower than was predicted this spring.

Tax Assessor Clinton Swett on Aug. 3, 2018 committed a 2019 tax rate of $19.02 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, lower than the $19.18 anticipated when the Town Council adopted the budget in May. Taxes were predicted to rise $1.18, or 6.6 percent over the 2018 rate of $18, but the actual increase will be 5.7 percent.

Swett attributed the difference to a higher townwide valuation fueled by new home construction and renovations, and to reimbursement for homestead exemptions. Assessing field work is typically not completed until July, Swett said, well after the budget is adopted in May and the school budget validated by citizen vote in June.

For a home valued at $300,000, the 16-cent difference in predicted tax rate is a $48 difference on the tax bill.

The commitment is based on total taxable valuation of $1.72 billion. [full report] [summary]