The Andover Select Board unanimously voted to raise residential property taxes 5.2 percent Monday, opting for a formula offering smaller increases for business and industrial property taxpayers than other plans the board considered.
“When we’ve got businesses that have been hit pretty hard in the last four or five years, [the other options] may be a bigger hit,” select board member Laura Gregory said. “I want to make sure we maintain our small businesses in town because if we lose them, we’re going to lose a lot of the character of our community.”
The board adopted a formula aimed at keeping taxes as uniform as possible across the three classes of properties. Under the rates approved Monday, commercial and industrial tax bills will rise by 4.7 and 9 percent, respectively. The vote was 4-0, with Chris Huntress absent from the meeting.
Residential property tax bills rose 5.9 percent last year under a different shift. Had the board taken the same route this year, residential property taxes would have risen 4.9 percent, while commercial and industrial property bills would have gone up 5.7 percent. Industrial property taxes would have risen 10 percent under the uniform plan.
The actual residential tax rate set for residential properties by the board is $12.88 per $1,000 of property value, while commercial and industrial properties will have a tax rate of $25.49.
With average assessed value for single-family homes rising $98,000 this year, it’s the second straight year average property values rose more than six percent. The average assessed value for residential properties in Andover has risen $262,000 since the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2022.
That means the average residential property taxpayer’s bill will go up to $12,329 from $11,733 last year.
Residential taxes have increased at a greater rate than commercial over the last 10 years. Commercial increased an average of 3.91% and residential 3.95%. Yes – there are very close – but how about giving the residents a break! About 10 major companies pay about 85% of our commercial tax base.
What the heck?? That’s an enormous increase! May annual raise in my salary wasn’t any where near that! Was anyone else’s??