Belmont’s Select Board recently voted to maintain a single tax rate, with a minimum residential factor of 1 for fiscal year 2025. Board members delayed, however, a vote on a residential exemption in favor of further discussion.
Town officials previously explained that the public hearing on Dec. 23 came a little later than usual this year. Between the recertification process—which occurs every five years—the town’s antiquated assessment system, and the reorganization of the Board of Assessors, the joint hearing with the Board of Assessors occurred just before the new year.
Assessor Dan Dargon said this year’s assessments demonstrated some recovery from the pandemic, particularly with respect to the town’s commercial tax base.
“This is the first time we’re starting to see us get back to our foothold before the pandemic,” he said. “It’s kudos to the commercial base for recovering.”
Still, both the Board of Assessors and the Select Board felt the 22.5% growth in the town’s commercial base was not enough to warrant a split tax rate for FY25. Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne said that while splitting the tax rate may have a minor impact on residents, the impact on commercial properties would have been substantial.
According to Dionne, the goal is for tax receipts from commercial property to reach a threshold of 10% of the total tax base. They currently stand at 5% for the town.
“We’ve gotten to the point where the public is more aware than prior years about the tax split in our town and the continuing efforts to try and improve our commercial tax base,” said Select Board member Matt Taylor. “I think until we reach about a 10% threshold…there just isn’t enough commercial tax base to support what is being taken away from the other 90%.”
As for the residential exemption, board members agreed not to take action, noting there’s a group looking into tax possibilities for seniors.
“Maybe this could be part of the work they undertake,” said Select Board member Roy Epstein.
Taylor added that the overall tax shift over the last decade or so has been such that the assessed value of homes below the median has increased more than that of homes that are above the median.
“That has shifted the collective burden to the less expensive homes in Belmont,” he said. “I think this is something we should take up in the coming year, because it’s part of a longer trend in the changing dynamic in our town that we’re trying to stay current on.”
In other business
The Select Board approved a contract for a Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal system to replace Vision Government Solutions. CAMA is an automated system for maintaining property data, valuing property, notifying owners, and ensuring tax equity through uniform valuations, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
“We were very much an outlier in terms of using the old system,” Dionne said. “Because other towns use it, we have good data on its efficacy.”