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Date: 11/8/2022
NORTHAMPTON – During a meeting on Nov. 3, the City Council sent an order to establish a tax classification to their consent agenda for the next meeting.
All items under the consent agenda are usually voted for approval unless a councilor asks that an item be removed, to which the entire council body will then discuss it. Otherwise, all items under the consent agenda cannot be discussed, just voted on.
Tax classification presentation
The City Council began the meeting with a public hearing about what type of tax rate the city should approve.
Under Massachusetts General Law, the City Council and mayor decide each year whether to implement a single tax rate or a split tax rate in the city. According to Marc Dautreuil, the principal assessor for Northampton, the best way to determine whether a single or split tax rate is appropriate is by determining what the city’s tax levy percentage split is between residential, commercial, industrial and personal property.
The city tax rate for fiscal year 2022 (FY22) was $17.89 per $1,000 of assessed property value and approved a single tax rate for all four properties.
For FY23, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra and Dautreuil are recommending that the city maintain that single tax rate for all four properties. If a single rate is voted on, then the tax rate would drop to $15.84 per $1,000 of assessed property value. According to Dautreuil, this is a 13 percent decrease from last year’s number.
“It would be the lowest tax rate in Northampton since fiscal year 2015,” said Dautreuil, during the hearing, which means while home values are going up in the city, the proposed tax rate will mean that the amount of taxes paid in January will be “lower” than expected.
According to Dautreuil, splitting the tax rate would lower the residential tax rate to $14.62 per $1,000, compared to the $15.84 per $1,000 with a single tax rate. Under a split tax rate, the commercial rate would rise from $15.84 per $1,000 to $26.12 per $1,000.
The average single-family home, meanwhile, will be assessed at $424,527 for FY23, according to Dautreuil.
“The city of Northampton does not have the infrastructure to properly support a split tax rate,” said Dautreuil. “The type of commercial properties that Northampton has are not conducive to a split rate, as most split-rate communities have either large industrial complexes, or a combination of industrial complexes and big box stores.”
In addition, Dautreuil argued that the city is still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic – therefore raising the tax rate for small businesses would be “crippling.”
“I recommend a single tax rate for the city of Northampton,” said Dautreuil. “A single tax rate is the most fair and feasible option for all classes of property. In addition, $15.84 per $1,000 is already extremely reasonable as a tax rate as it is in the lower one-third of all of tax rates in all of Massachusetts.”
The city had $56 million in new growth from property and commercial classes. Dautreuil added, however, that there was not as many commercial construction projects this past year, as opposed to the past five years.
The majority of the councilors appear to agree with the single tax rate, with Councilors Alex Jarrett and Rachel Maiore particularly emphasizing the importance of a more progressive tax system at the state level to alleviate some of the pressures at the local one.