HUNTINGTON – At a public hearing for a new tax classification for the Town of Huntington on Wednesday, at which no members of the public were present, the Board of Selectman approved a new single tax rate of $16.38 per thousand, beginning the third quarter of FY13. Last year, the tax rate was $15.12 per thousand.
Edward Renaud, chairman of the Board of Assessors, said the tax rate is going up because of a decrease of $10,700,000 in land values in Huntington.
Renaud said that Chris Keith of Patriot Properties did a revaluation of all the residences in town over the summer. Renaud also said it is advantageous to have one person look at all the houses, and Patriot Properties are the western Massachusetts representatives for Governor Patrick. Overall, Huntington’s land values have been devalued by 5 percent.
In Chester, taxes will increase beginning the third quarter of FY13 to $20.28 per thousand. Last year, the rate was $18.96 per thousand.
Mary Ann Pease, Tax Collector for the town of Chester explained that the first two quarters of the fiscal year in August and November are based on 50 percent of the prior year’s taxes. The new tax rate is based on how much the town has to raise versus how much it costs to run the town.
“Normally, the rule is when the tax rate goes up, the real estate values go down. When the tax rate goes down, the values go up,” Pease said.
Once the new tax classification is signed, the new tax rate will appear on the third quarter FY13 tax bill, which is due February 1. The new bills must be out by the end of December, according to Huntington Town Clerk Andrea McKittrick, because residents must have 30 days to pay. McKittrick said she is waiting for passage of the new tax classification to be completed and signedin order to prepare the third quarter tax bills.
