Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/18/2022
BELCHERTOWN – Based on a presentation given by the Board of Assessors, the tax rate is projected to drop in fiscal year 2023 (FY23).
Last year the tax rate was 17.66 per $1,000 valuation and even though it is projected to drop to 16.32 this fiscal year, Select Board Chair Jim Barry said values of homes have gone up.
At the Nov. 14 Select Board meeting, the Board of Assessors came in to host a tax classification hearing and Sen. Eric Lesser stopped by to give updates and show gratitude before his term ends.
The Board of Assessors came before the board to host their annual tax classification hearing.
The purpose of this hearing was to provide information and relevant data regarding the allocation of the property tax levy among residential and commercial property owners for the FY23.
The Director of Assessments John Whelihan said that since 1980, each municipality is given the option to select a residential factor which will determine the percentages of tax to be borne by each class of property.
Whelihan said that last year the Select Board selected a residential factor of one resulting in a single, uniform tax rate.
“Your starter home 20 years ago was 150,000 to $200,000 and now they are up to $350,000 to $400,000,” Whelihan added.
The presentation compared the average valuations and tax bills from FY22 to the projected FY23.
The average valuations of residential homes and condos rise around $30,000 to $40,000 while commercial and industrial valuations only rise about $5,000 to $10,000.
For example, the average valuation of a commercial building in FY22 was $490,731 and in FY23 it is projected to be $499,291.
Even though the tax rate is projected to drop, the amount of taxes you pay will rise.
In FY22, a single-family home was valued at $306,473 but is now estimated to cost $345,528 in FY23.
That single family home who was paying $5,412 in taxes in FY22 is projected to be paying $5,639 in FY23.
Wehlihan also compared the tax rates for surrounding and comparable communities. It had four separate columns that included tax rate, average value, average tax bill and tax levy.
Out of the 12 communities listed, Belchertown ranked right in the middle in each category.
The Select Board had the option to vote for a Commercial, Industrial and Personal Property (CIP) shift percentage that would lower the residential tax rate and raise the CIP tax rate.
Whelihan said the maximum percentage shift allowed would be 50 percent, which would lower the residential tax rate to 15.72 and raise the residential CIP tax rate to 24.48.
“For every dollar increase in the commercial rate, the residential rate will decrease seven cents. It seems like a foolish endeavor to change the rate,” Whelihan added.
Select Board Vice Chair Ron Aponte said, “As long as I have been on the board, the Board of Assessors, director of assessments, everyone agrees that keeping that residential factor one is the best way to keep business.”
Select Board Clerk Peg Louraine agreed that shifting the rates would hurt the town’s small business.
“I like all our little businesses. That would be an enormous burden to put on them. It would lose them. We can’t afford to, and we don’t want to,” Louraine added.
The Select Board unanimously voted to keep the residential factor at a one.
State Sen. Eric Lesser also stopped by to thank the board for all their help and give a few updates before his term is up.
He started with a joke and said, “I would like to introduce myself as Sen. Lesser for the next six weeks or so.”
Barry asked what is going to happen the next few weeks regarding some outstanding bills that still need to be signed.
“We just finished an economic development bill that includes some significant tranche of the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding. It includes two billion dollars in supplemental appropriations for FY22. Belchertown should start to see some more funding come online soon,” Lesser said.
Select Board member Ed Boscher asked, “What about the East-West rail?”
“We are in good position on that right now,” Lesser said.
He explained that the federal infrastructure package includes language that this project is eligible for intercity rail.
He said the next step is moving the funds from the federal level to the state level. They must figure out an authority to oversee and run the service.
Some options include to operate it through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or charter Amtrak services.
“In the legislation we created a commission to assess the options and provide some recommendations,” Lesser said.
He added, “The legislation requires that the commission concludes work in March so the hope is that the work will be done then and then there will hearings in Western Massachusetts to make sure everyone knows about it.”
All the board members thanked Lesser for his service and agreed that Belchertown would not be the town it is today without all his help.