Selectmen continue dual rate
Published on December 3rd, 1997
STONEHAM MA. - The town's dual tax rate for residential and commercial properties will continue for fiscal year 1998 with increases to both, as approved by the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday night. The shift differential between the two will remain at 112 percent, just as is has since 1992.
Residents can expect to pay an additional 30 cents per thousand dollar of property valuation in fiscal 1998, compared to this year, yielding a residential tax rate of $16.71 per thousand dollar of assessed value. Businesses can expect a tax rate of $19.10, an increase of 35 cents per thousand dollar of assessed value of a commercial piece of property.
Board of Assessors Director Elaine Moore presented the figures to the Selectmen with her board's recommendation of continuing at the 112 percent shift for 1998, stating that "very little has changed" in regards to property values from this year.
Selectman Anthony Kennedy stated that should the valuation shift significantly in the future, "we owe it to ourselves to look at this further and consider making a change."
Windsor Road resident and local insurance agent Kim O'Neil, speaking as a business owner and on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, requested the Selectmen honor the present shift or consider decreasing it by 1 percent.
The Board unanimously voted to continue the dual tax rate with the 112 percent shift between residential and commercial properties.
If a single tax rate was approved instead, that rate for fiscal 1998 would have been $17.05.
Under the approved 1998 dual tax rate, the owner of a $200,000 home will pay approximately $3,342 in taxes next year, an increase of approximately $60 from the current year, assuming the home's value stays the same. A $200,000 commercial property will pay about $70 more in 1998, with a tax bill of approximately $3820 in 1998, again assuming the property value remains the same.
The town's complete revaluation process began this year with one-third of the town's property revaluated. The process will continue in 1998 and 1999. Tax bills will reflect the new property valuations in the year 2000.
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