Homeowners of dwellings valued at $562,200 will pay approximately $123.63 more on their property tax bills altogether during
the next 12 months.
Owners of small businesses can expect to pay a 12 percent increase or an
additional $689. 56 in property tax bills in 2008 than what
they pay now.
This assessment is predicated on a commercial property’s assessed
value of $353,100 in 2008.
Large commercial
firms with assessed property values of $2.1 million will be billed an
additional $4,073 in taxes by assessors.
Owners of
apartment complexes with an assessed property value of $6 million can expect to
pay $2,246.53 more by Dec. 31, 2008.
These hikes were
approved by the town council on Nov. 19 at the recommendation of the board of
assessors.
Board of Assessors Chairman Paul Haley said that commercial properties will
shoulder 60 percent of the overall tax levy assessed to property owners under a
1.60 percent shift by assessors.
“We feel this is a
fair and equitable solution and that you adopt that recommendation,” he said
during a public hearing.
The shift in the
tax levy onto commercial properties is a slight reduction from what business
owners will pay by the end of this year.
Commercial
interests are bearing 1.75 percent of the overall tax levy in 2007.
The proposed
assessments contain no tax exemptions for homeowners on any portion of their
property's assessed value.
Haley said that households near waterfronts such as Whitman’s Pond can
expect to pay 10 percent more on their property tax bills because the market
value of a property next to a shoreline has gone up.
“A small home in
The assessments of
properties in
Revaluations are
done every three years under state law.
There are
approximately 17,000 taxable parcels in
“The properties valuation in the town have received preliminary
certification by the state Department of Revenue,” Haley said.
District 4
Councilor Art Mathews voiced reluctance about the higher rates for homeowners
living near Whitman’s Pond and waterfronts.
“I do agree with the property tax shift,” he said. “I feel that this should
be done, but I am disappointed with the increase on properties in the Whitman’s
Pond area. They will be paying more, and it is too much of an increase.”
Haley said the
increased sales of waterfront properties are causing taxes on these parcels to
rise higher than typical residential lots.
“We will continue to monitor the sales of those properties as we go
forward, and residents will have the right to appeal their assessments to the
assessors,” he said.
District 3
Councilor Ken DiFazio
asked Haley how the board assessed commercial property valuations.
“We looked at the
sales of those properties and how the sites were being used,” Haley replied.
South Shore Chamber of Commerce President Peter Forman welcomed the
reduction of the tax levy shift on businesses from 1.75 in 2007 to 1.60 for
2008.
“We are pleased that the mayor and the board of assessors feel a need to
bring the property tax shift down,” he said as the hearing neared a conclusion.