Selectmen’s Tax Classification Subcommittee releases recommendations

At tonight’s Clinton Board of Selectmen meeting, the board’s Tax Classification Subcommittee will present its recommendations in advance of next week’s annual Tax Classification hearing and the setting of the Fiscal Year 2019 tax rate. 

The Tax Classification Subcommittee was made up of Selectman Michael Dziokonski, Principal Assessor David Baird, Paul Cherubini, Stephen Philbin, and me. Town Administrator Michael Ward and Community and Economic Development Director Philip Duffy attended some meetings in advisory roles.

The subcommittee met four times, on April 25, May 10, May 30 and October 30, 2018. Our charge was to review the town’s split tax rate and make recommendations, if any, on how to proceed with tax classification moving forward.

The report covers the history of the property tax split (in Massachusetts and in Clinton), an overview of how Clinton sets its property tax rate, the exemptions offered to property owners, a list of comparable towns and their rates, trends, advantages and disadvantages to maintaining the tax rate split, and the subcommittee’s recommendations. They are as follows:

1. Reduce the town’s tax rate split at the rate of 2 percent a year until a single rate is achieved.​​ Making an all-at-once leap to a single rate of $19.45 would result in a jarring increase of $883 to the average residential taxpayer. Chipping away at the split would spread out that impact to residential property owners over time, and demonstrate that the town is committed to improving the climate for businesses here.
2. Continue to expand exemption programs as allowed by law.​​ Publicize the availability of these programs, and the senior work program, to increase participation among those potentially affected by a tax increase.

The full report can be downloaded here:

The Board of Selectmen holds its annual Tax Classification Hearing next Wednesday, December 5, at 7 p.m. in the second-floor conference room. I encourage anyone interested in this important process or in sharing their opinion, to come out and have your voice heard.