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Date: 11/30/2023
WEST SPRINGFIELD — Town councilors voted on Nov. 20 to keep the same property tax split next year, so West Springfield businesses will continue to pay a higher rate than homeowners.
Although the proportional split will remain the same, increases in the town budget and in property values mean that the tax rate itself will go down, but annual tax bills will increase.
The split voted on Nov. 20 will result in a fiscal year 2024 tax rate of $14.81 per $1,000 assessed value for residential properties, and $29.80 per $1,000 assessed value for commercial and industrial properties. Those rates compare to $15.54 and $30.58, respectively, in FY23.
West Springfield Chief Financial Officer Sharon Wilcox said home values have increased by about 10.15%, however, and commercial values are up 5.53%. As a result, the annual tax bill on the average single-family home will rise from $4,701 to $4,478, an increase of about 4.7% despite the much higher rise in valuations.
“This equates to a marginal increase as far as your overall taxes,” said Councilor Brian Griffin before joining the unanimous vote.
Council President Edward Sullivan said individual property owners who feel their taxes have risen disproportionately should contact the town assessor to make sure their property is valued accurately.
Taxes rise when the Town Council adopts a town budget that requires more local funding than the previous year. This year’s budget called for an increase in the local tax levy from $68.69 million to $71.59 million. The budget is voted each year in June. This month’s vote was on how to apportion the tax hike among different types of properties.
The residential tax rate for FY24 is 49.70% of the business tax rate, the first time since FY12 that the residential rate has been less than half as large as the business rate. The closest the rates got to parity in the past 15 years was FY19 through FY21, when residential rates were 52% of the business rate.