Tax rates up, down, in between
Here is a roundup of tax rates in Greater Nashua for the coming year:
Nashua
As city officials have predicted for months, about three-quarters of residents will see either no increase or a slight decrease in their tax bills this year.
The state Department of Revenue Administration set the 2009 tax rate at $19.82 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
That’s an increase of nearly 13 percent from the 2008 tax rate of $17.55.
However, residential property values fell an average of 12 percent, meaning, “Seventy-four percent of residential taxpayers are actually going to see no change at all or a decrease in their tax bill,” Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said.
Taxpayers whose properties managed to keep their value despite the recession would pay $567.50 more in taxes in 2009 on a $250,000 home.
The city’s overall tax base has fallen by about 10 percent because of declining property value, Lozeau said.
City property owners should receive their tax bills on or shortly after Nov. 16. Payments to the city must be postmarked by Dec. 15 to avoid 12 percent interest.
To avoid a trip to city hall, taxpayers are encouraged to use the mail-in service for their payments. A paid receipt will be returned in their self-addressed, stamped envelope once the collection season has passed. A canceled check or mortgage statement will also suffice as a receipt for federal tax purposes.
Anyone who hasn’t received a bill by that date is asked to call the city’s tax office at 589-3190 and the city will promptly provide a duplicate.
“The overall monies needed to be raised this year is just 1.3 percent more than last, well below the spending cap,” Lozeau said.
– PATRICK MEIGHAN
Amherst
Property owners will see a tiny increase in their tax bill.
The new rate of $20.19 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation represents an increase of 13 cents, or roughly seven-tenths of a percent, over the 2008 rate, Town Administrator Gary MacGuire said.
The new rate means a resident whose home is assessed at $300,000 will pay $39 more than last year.
Local education accounts for nearly two-thirds of the total tax bill, even though this year’s breakdown shows that the education portion dropped 13 cents per thousand, from $13.82 in 2008 to $13.69 this year.
Two other categories – state education and county tax – also went down. State education decreased 3 cents per thousand to $2.15, while the county tax dropped a nickel, from $1.02 to 97 cents.
The town portion, meanwhile, is $3.38 per thousand, up 34 cents from 2008.
MacGuire said the rise in the town portion results from a drop in town revenue over the last year.
The official tax rate is set by the state Department of Revenue Administration in the fall before communities issue their December property tax bills.
– DEAN SHALHOUP
Brookline
Homeowners will see some hefty savings in their property tax bills.
The tax rate, set by the state Department of Revenue Administration, was finalized at $23.24 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, a decrease of $1 from last year’s rate.
“It doesn’t often go down,” said Rena Duncklee, executive assistant to the Board of Selectmen.
Brookline’s lower rate means a home assessed at $300,000 is being taxed $300 less this year.
Duncklee said the town portion of the newly set tax rate is down 53 cents, from $4.78 in 2008 to $4.25 this year.
She said the school share dropped from $16.38 to $15.91, or 47 cents, while the county portion increased 6 cents, from 97 cents to $1.03.
Brookline taxpayers will pay 6 cents less this year for the state education portion of their bill.
– HATTIE BERNSTEIN
Hollis
Taxpayers saw a small decrease when they opened their property tax bills this month.
The tax rate, set by the state Department of Revenue Administration, was finalized at $20.74 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, a decrease of 21 cents from last year’s rate.
The tax bill for a home in Hollis valued at $300,000 is $6,222, or $63 less than last year.
Paul Calabria, the Hollis finance director, said the new tax rate represents a significantly lower school appropriation, in part because of a state and federal adequate education grant that’s up $266,231 over last year.
Calabria said that in addition to the infusion of state and federal education money, the local and cooperative school district operating budgets are down $484,441.
– HATTIE BERNSTEIN
Hudson
The property tax rate will drop this year.
The town just mailed tax bills, and property owners will see a 62 cent decrease per $1,000 of assessed property valuation.
The overall property tax for 2009 is $15.34 per $1,000, down from $15.96 in 2008.
The decrease comes mostly from a drop in the cost to fund education. Last year, a taxpayer paid $7.99 per $1,000 for local education and $2.28 per $1,000 for state education. This year, local education costs $7.13 per $1,000 and state education $2.22.
The county tax also fell, from $1.03 per $1,000 to $1.02.
The municipal portion of the tax bill was the only one to increase this year, from $4.66 per $1,000 to $4.97.
– ALBERT McKEON
Litchfield
The town joined other area towns in offering a tax discount to property owners.
The 2009 tax rate is $15.72 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, a 27 cent decrease.
The town portion of taxes decreased, from $2.71 per $1,000 last year to $2.28 this year.
Education costs decreased at the state level by 9 cents, from $2.04 per $1,000 in 2008 to $1.95 this year.
But the local education tax increased this year by 27 cents, from $10.32 per $1,000 to $10.59.
The county tax dropped 2 cents, from 92 cents to 90 cents.
– ALBERT McKEON
Lyndeborough
The tax rate for 2009 is $19.98 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, down $1 from a year ago. All areas of the tax bill are lower except the state education tax, which is up one penny.
The breakdown is: town, $5.36; school, $11.49; state education, $2.16; and county, 98 cents.
Last year’s numbers were: town, $5.86; schools, $11.94; state education, $2.15; and county, $1.03, for a total tax rate of $20.98.
The reason for the lower rate is through careful budgeting, according to officials.
– JESSIE SALISBURY
Merrimack
Residents will see a bump up in their property tax bills this fall.
The town’s new tax rate, confirmed by the state’s Department of Revenue Administration, has been set at $19.17 per $1,000 in assessed value, up 1.2 percent – or 23 cents over last year’s rate of $18.94.
This means a household assessed at $300,000 will pay $69 more in taxes this year.
The biggest leap is in the local school tax rate, which went up 31 cents from $11.50 to $11.81.
The uptick is because of increased spending and a drop in estimated revenues and an education adequacy grant.
The town’s portion of the tax rate stayed flat at $4.23, and the county and state school tax rates dropped a total of 8 cents.
Tax bills were mailed Oct. 30 and are due Dec. 1.
Merrimack residents have a new way to file their bills this year.
A return envelope has been included in each mailing. Residents can send their bills back in that envelope, which will be sent to a post office box and picked up by the town’s bank for electronic processing. Officials have said this will save the town time and money.
Residents with questions about their property assessment should call the assessing department at 424-5136. Residents with questions about their tax bill should call the town manager’s office at 424-2331.
– KAREN LOVETT
Milford
Property owners should receive tax bills soon that reflect the town’s new tax rate of $19.21 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, up from $18.58.
The new rate breaks down to $4.47 for the town, 99 cents for the county, $11.63 for local schools and $2.12 for the state school tax.
The new rate means a property assessed at $300,000 will pay $5,763, or $189 more than last year.
Town Administrator Guy Scaife told selectmen Monday night that new tax bills that reflect the new rate will go out Friday.
Local taxes are based on how much money a town agrees to spend for schools, public safety, public works and other services.
The school tax is a tax the state levies and redistributes and is the result of a state Supreme Court ruling that education funding only through local property taxes is unfair.
– KATHY CLEVELAND
Wilton
Taxpayers will get a little relief – the 2009 tax rate is $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation lower than last year, at $16.88.
There are reductions in all portions of the bill except the school portion, which is up 18 cents to $10.02.
The biggest reduction is in the town portion, which is down $1.23, to $3.78.The breakdown is: town, $3.78; local schools, $10.02; state education, $2.12; and county, 96 cents.
Last year’s numbers were: town, $5.01; local schools, $9.84; state education, $2.15; and county, $1, for a rate of $18.
Officials credit careful budgeting for the reductions.
– JESSIE SALISBURY
