Nov. 20, 2017
by Nan Shnitzler
At the recommendation of the Board of Assessors, selectmen on Nov. 16 voted to maintain a single uniform tax rate in Fiscal 2018 for residential, commercial and personal property, which is projected to be $20.66, a 54-cent decrease over Fiscal 2017. However, the new rate represents a tax bill addition of $343 on an average single-family house valued at $514,200. Assessors noted a residential valuation uptick of about 7 percent from last year in a positive real estate market.
New growth is also robust at $378,630, reflecting about 19 new homes, said Regional Tax Assessor David Manzello.
The proportion of Bolton’s total town valuation of $1,019,535,722 from the commercial/industrial base continues to shrink at 6.81 percent, whereas last year it was 7.5 percent.
Bolton’s tax levy, which is the amount needed to run the town (after revenue collected from other sources such as motor vehicle excise tax, municipal fees and state aid) is estimated at $21,063,608, a 3.3 percent increase over last year. However, based on the rules of Proposition 2½, Bolton could have raised the maximum levy of $21,359,780. The difference of $296,172 is excess levy capacity, which will not be passed on to taxpayers.
However, the assessors noted, the purchase of Camp Virginia could add 8 to10 cents to the tax rate. The addition would be excluded from Proposition 2½ and last for the expected 10-year life of the loan.