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Date: 11/8/2023
WILBRAHAM — The Monson and Wilbraham select boards met at the latter’s Oct. 30 meeting to discuss a joint venture in which the towns will share the services of a veterans service director.
Wilbraham Director of Veterans Services Jered Sasen has been lending a hand in Monson since the town’s veterans service officer left in the summer. Sasen agreed to oversee veterans services for both towns, if they so chose, provided that he would have a staff for the department.
Wilbraham Town Administrator Nick Breault said that the two towns could set up a veterans service district, which would be an entity unto itself with a board of directors. Otherwise, they could negotiate an inter-municipal agreement, similar to Eastern Hampden Shared Public Health Services, a health department shared between four towns, including Monson and Wilbraham. With an intermunicipal agreement, Breault said Wilbraham could act as the host community. In that structure, Wilbraham would take on all of the administrative and employee costs associated with the department, and the towns would need to negotiate cost allocation.
Monson Select Board Chair Patricia Oney said districts are more “rigid” in their requirements. Monson Town Administrator Jennifer Wolowicz said there was significant “red tape” with a district, and it made sense for Wilbraham to be the host community in an inter-municipal agreement because Sasen is already an employee with the town.
Monson Select Board member Peter Warren agreed with Oney and Wolowicz. He asked if other towns could join the agreement in the future. Breault told him it was possible.
Wilbraham Select Board member Susan Bunnell also thought an inter-municipal agreement was preferable to a veterans service district. When the votes were taken, each select board approved pursuing an inter-municipal agreement.
Oney said she was looking forward to working with Sasen.
“This is the way communities like ours need to do things moving forward. Good people are hard to find more and more, so if we have someone we can all work with, I think we need to do it,” Wilbraham Select Board Chair Theresa Goodrich said, referring to Sasen.
Tax Hearing
Principal Assessor Christopher Keefe shared a presentation on Wilbraham’s tax classification options with the Select Board. Property taxes make up 82% of Wilbraham’s revenue.
In fiscal year 2023, there was $2.28 billion in taxable property in Wilbraham. This fiscal year, the town’s taxable property is worth $2.45 billion, an increase of 7.5%. Keefe attributed the change to the building of several condominiums and single-family homes, as well as renovations. The commercial new growth is largely a result of the self-storage facility currently under construction on Boston Road.
The property is “overwhelmingly residential,” Keefe said, with only 5% of properties falling into the commercial or industrial categories.
When the value of property in a municipality increases, the tax rate decreases. The FY23 tax rate is $18.70 per $1,000 of property value, while the FY24 tax rate is expected to be $18.60 per $1,000 of value.
Keefe did not yet have official figures but said the levy would be “going up sharply” this year after a relatively “neutral” levy in FY23, adding that the town is spending $3 million more this year over last. He expected average annual property taxes to increase from $7,200 to $7,725. This will affect the third and fourth quarter tax bills.
Each year, the Select Board must decide whether to set a single tax rate for all property, which it has historically done. There are other options, however, the town could decrease the tax burden on residential properties in favor of shifting it to commercial, industrial and personal properties. Keefe said if this was pursued, residential properties could be reduced to $17.46, while commercial, industrial and personal property owners could see a $27.90 tax rate.
Another option would be to shift the residential burden away from owner-occupied homes and toward rental or second home properties. This is only done in a few communities in the state and an impact is usually only seen in municipalities with a high rate of tourism.
Otherwise, the town could choose to shift the commercial tax burden away from properties that house businesses with fewer than 10 employees and less than $1 million in annual revenue. This option would benefit the property owners but not necessarily business owners, who may rent their locations.
There is a permanent exemption in place for personal property under $10,000. Keefe said this keeps home-based businesses and startups “off the books,” but noted a vote at Town Meeting would be needed to change the exemption.
One resident at the hearing said businesses are largely for-profit and asked to shift the burden away from residential property taxpayers.
However, Bunnell said most Wilbraham businesses are “relatively small” and a split rate would be an “onerous burden.”
A residential tax factor of 1 was approved. No action was taken on the other tax classification options.