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Date: 12/28/2020
WESTHAMPTON – On Dec. 22, the Westhampton Selectboard voted to maintain a single tax rate for all of the town’s properties for the fiscal year 2021 (FY21).
With a tax rate factor of 1.0 for all properties, Assistant Assessor David Zagorski said the tax rate is estimated to be a total of $20.64, a 32 cent increase from the previous year’s rate, $20.32.
Zagorski shared with the Selectboard that the Assessor’s Office recommended a single tax rate because the town’s overall values increase approximately one percent for residential and 11 percent for commercial, industrial, and personal property, with an overall two percent increase.
“The CIP [commercial, industrial and personal property] is a little bit bigger than normal and that is because the value of MSTAR Electric Personal Property went up almost $1 million, so they are responsible for the minuity of increase in that class. It is recommended that there should at least a 20 to 25 percent commercial base for considering a split rate. In Westhampton, 94 percent of the tax burden is born by residential property owners, and six percent is carried by all other classes of property,” Zagorski shared.
As of press time, the rate was not yet guaranteed because the town was still in the process of submitting the rate to the state.
The Selectboard was set to approve a tax rate on Dec. 18 but because there were problems with the Department of Revenue approving their values, the meeting was continued to the Dec. 22 date.