HOMEOWNERS of WESTFIELD, WAKE UP
The headline in the Westfield News on December 8, 2015 was ‘Council cuts tax rate increase with free cash’. The headline is disingenuous at best, intentionally misleading at worst. Note the first four words ‘Council cuts tax rate . . . ‘. On the contrary the council again shifted more of the tax burden to the residential homeowner. Residential tax rates were raised by $0.90/$100,000 valuation from $18.54 to $19.44, an increase of 4.85% percent. In simpler terms, for every $100,000 of assessed value for your home your taxes will increase $90/year. For a $200,000 home will you will pay an additional $180/year; a $300,000 home, an additional $270/year. The math is simple. Nowhere in the article was it stated that there would be a 4.85 percent tax rate increase on the homeowner. It appears that the Chamber of Commerce wrote the article.
Some will argue that the Commercial/Industrial rate also increased. But that is only half the story. The article states that the overall valuation of Commercial/Industrial properties decreased. Thus, if the tax rate goes up, but the valuation of the property goes down, there may not be an increase in the tax burden. Does the term ‘shell game’ come to mind? Remember taxes are based on the following formula:
Tax burden = (Tax Rate X Assessed value of property).
I am not sure who we, as homeowners, should be more upset with – our Council that voted for this significant tax increase, or the Westfield News for not performing their public service to even mention the magnitude of the increased tax rate on the all homeowners of Westfield.
In closing, I plan on canceling my subscription to the Westfield News so I can take that savings and pay my higher tax bill to help support our businesses.
Remember this next time in the voter’s booth.
Thank you for your input. Without question, the issue of property taxes in any municipality is very complex and can be confusing. To add some clarification to our readers, our headline on Wednesday Dec 9th of “Council Cuts Tax Rate Increase With Free Cash” is an accurate headline as it addresses lowering the tax increase, as compared to last year’s increase, by utilizing free cash. To learn more about this topic, go to this web site: http://www.mass.gov/dor/docs/dls/publ/misc/levylimits.pdf. We find your closing comment interesting, “I plan on canceling my subscription to the Westfield News so I can take that savings and pay my higher tax bill to help support our businesses,” as this is completely contradictory: cancelling your subscription hurts the one business in town that is here to educate the citizens with balanced, non-biased reporting, The Westfield News.
