Dual tax rises slightly for property local owners
Published on December 2nd, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - The Board of Selectmen voted to maintain the status quo on Tuesday night when they unanimously endorsed the 112 percent dual tax rate in the Town of Stoneham.
As has been the case since the 1980's when the rate was split at 120 percent, businesses in Stoneham will be forced to pay more for their property in taxes to the town than homeowners. Since 1994, the dual rate has been maintained at 112 percent. Under this rate, residential property owners will pay $16.95 per $1,000 for their property while owners of commercial property will pay $19.37 per $1,000.
The figures from the Board of Assessors show that residential property accounts for over 85 percent of the tax base while commercial, industrial and personal property account for just over 14 percent. As has been the case for decades, the Town of Stoneham seems desperate for an influx of business.
According to Stoneham resident and President of Robert F. O'Neil Insurance Agency Kim O'Neil, this problem must be addressed.
"Driving around town, it seems to be more vacant property here in commercial than in residential and that scares me. Some day, something's going to have to be done about that," he explained.
O'Neil said that he was unsure if a single rate, under which business and residential owners would pay the same rate, would ease the business crisis in town.
"Just don't look at the square," he continued. "I'm not saying it's the tax rate (that's the cause), but maybe that's something we can do to help people out."
Albert Conti, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, asked Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting in conjunction with Director of Community Development Steve Sadwick to look into the cause of the high vacancy and turnover of businesses in commercial property in Stoneham.
"If times are good now and we're not seeing a lot of good businesses, when times go bad, things could be exacerbated," Conti warned.
These figures could change dramatically, however, once the revaluation figures come in, explained Elaine Moore, director of assessing. In recent months, town homes and businesses were visited and property value was adjusted to better reflect the current real estate market. The figures from this revaluation, Moore said, should be available in July of 1999.
"I think next year when we see the figures from revaluation, we'll see a big change," she explained. "But, right now, there isn't much of a change at all."
The change in property values from Fiscal Year 1998 to Fiscal Year 1999, in fact, accounts for less than $11 million. When compared to the total valuation for the town of well over $1.3 billion, the increase is just a drop in the bucket.
Moore said that business construction projects on Montvale Avenue and around town combined with the possible sale of Boston Regional Medical Center to a for-profit group could translate into a significant change in the town's tax base.
Members of the board decided after little discussion to keep the 112 percent rate and also voted against commercial and residential tax exemptions which, while helping some owners, place a heavier burden on the rest of the rate payers. Moore said that the criteria for qualifying for residential exemptions is hard to determine fairly, and for commercial owners, is intricate and, in some cases, unfair.
"I think someone in the state needed a job and they made up this one," she said of the exemption process.
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