Board approves tax rate
Date: 11/14/2012
By Carley Dangona
carley@thereminder.comSOUTHWICK — At a public hearing on Nov. 5, the Board of Selectman unanimously approved a single property tax for the community, where both residential and commercial properties will pay the same rate.
"Being a small community, the single taxpayer rate is the fairest for our town," Selectman Russell Fox stated. "We have so little commercial property, we'd have to triple or quadruple the [commercial] rate [to create a lower rate for residents]."
He explained, "This would place a significant burden on the commercial properties and cause them to move out of town [seeking affordable rates."
The Selectman met after the Board of Assessors recommended a single property tax rate would be the fair option for the town.
"Southwick is still pretty small, there's not a lot of businesses," Sue Gore, director of Assessment said. "The Board [of Assessors] recommended one flat rate. It's pretty much been [the same] for the last 10 years."
