Average Dalton Property Bill Rises 7%

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board voted to maintain a single tax rate, as it has done in the past, during its meeting on Thursday night. 
 
All types of properties within the town, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, will be taxed at the same rate.
 
"In a town this size, splitting the tax rate and shifting the burden onto the commercial, which would include classified forest, farm, and recreational lands, industrial and personal properties in town, we believe would have an adverse effect, unlike in larger communities that have big businesses that can more easily accept the tax increase due to the shift in rates," Assessor's Clerk Lee Nunez said.  
 
The Board of Assessors has recommended a single tax rate for a number of years because more that 90 percent of the taxes generated are from residential homes, Select Board member John Boyle said in a follow up. The town has a very limited industrial and business portion of its assessed value.
 
The value of the average single-family home was $271,929 in fiscal year 2023; this is projected to increase to $314,926.
 
The town's tax rate is projected to be $17.01, which is down $1.36 per $1,000 of assessed value. Although the tax rate is down, the tax bill is projected to increase because spending has increased.  
 
Residential property values have increased by 16 percent, commercial values by 8 percent, and industrial values by 3 percent.
 
The average single family tax bill will increase by $361.55, bringing it to $5,356.89 from last year's $4,995.34. 
 
The board voted not to have a residential exemption, as recommended by the Board of Assessors. 
 
This exemption would have taxed properties such as rental properties, and summer and vacation homes at a higher rate. 
 
"Of the 351 municipalities in the commonwealth, only 16 opted for the residential exemption four years ago with none of the communities located in the Berkshires," Nunez said. 
 
The municipalities which opted for the residential exemption were large cities and towns that had many "non-owner-occupied properties like apartment buildings or resort communities with many seasonal residents," he said. 
 
The town's excess levy capacity is down $330,296.32 from last year bringing it to $864,386.07 for fiscal 2024. The town takes this figure into consideration when developing the budget. The town's total taxable value has increased to $895,322,865 from $784,136,614 in fiscal 2023. 
 
When the town is developing the budget it needs to be under the excess levy capacity by a healthy amount because in the case of an emergency they may need to tax more to generate some funds, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said in a follow up. 

Tags: fiscal 2024,   property taxes,   tax classification,   

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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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