Posted: 18 Dec 2010 01:47 AM PST

The property tax bill for the average home in Boston is increasing by $220 in the current fiscal year, the city announced yesterday.

Ronald W. Rakow, the city's commissioner of assessing, said in a telephone interview that the bill for the average single-family residence will come to $3,155 in fiscal 2011, which began in July, up from $2,935 in fiscal 2010. He said the rate is "still very competitive, compared to the statewide average'' of $4,390.

"Due to the current economic climate, reductions in the [city's] other revenue sources, most notably state aid, left the [city] with little choice but to increase the property tax levy by the maximum allowed under Proposition 2 1/2,'' the state law capping property tax rate increases at 2.5 percent without an override, Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office said in a statement yesterday.

Samuel R. Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-funded watchdog organization, said in a telephone interview that the new rates were to be expected in the current economic climate and that the tax structure remains advantageous for homeowners.

"The only change they could make is to decide not to raise the full [2.5 percent] levy,'' he said. "We wouldn't even recommend that this year in a year of local aid cuts.''

Menino's office said the tax rate for residential properties in fiscal 2011 is $12.79 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from $11.88.

The rate for commercial properties is $31.04 per $1,000 of assessed value, up from $29.38 in the last fiscal year.

Third-quarter tax bills with the new assessments will be mailed out at the end of the month, and the quarterly payment is due Feb. 1.

The tax rate for homes in the city was $11.12 per $1,000 of assessed value in fiscal 2006, $10.99 in fiscal 2007, $10.97 in fiscal 2008, and $10.63 in fiscal 2009, records show.

Menino's office said the total assessed value for commercial and residential properties in fiscal 2011, which began in July, is $86.8 billion, a decrease of .05 percent from fiscal 2010. Rakow said that figure suggests "things are sort of stabilizing in the real e state market, which is a good thing.''

The total tax levy on commercial and residential properties will be $1.54 billion in fiscal 2011, a $75 million increase from the last fiscal year, according to yesterday's statement. The mayor's office said $38 million of that growth is coming from new home and commercial building construction, and the rest comes from the tax increase allowed under Proposition 2 1/2.

Residents who own and occupy their homes will be eligible for a property tax exemption of $1,594.85 in fiscal 2011, the mayor's office said. In addition, homeowners 65 and over with limited incomes are eligible for a $750 exemption, and other breaks are available for homeowners who are blind, surviving spouses, or veterans with a service-related disability.

Ratepayers who have questions can call the Taxpayer Referral and Assistance Center at 617-635-4287.

Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com.

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Cuomo faces battle over property tax-cap exemptions - From the Poughkeepsie Journal

Posted: 17 Dec 2010 04:45 PM PST

ALBANY — The upcoming battle over a property-tax cap in New York will not only focus on whether to have one, but also what should be included in it.

Cities this week called for any property-tax cap to exempt the growing costs for pensions and health care, saying they are unable to control those costs without significant state mandate relief.

But incoming Gov. Andrew Cuomo has made a property-tax cap a cornerstone of his agenda, and he is offering few exemptions from what his cap would include.

He is proposing to cap the growth in property taxes at 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, saying that from 2002 to 2007 school property taxes rose on average 7.6 percent and county taxes increased an average of 5.7 percent.

New Jersey adopted a 2 percent tax cap this year, but carved out exemptions for pension and health-care costs. Even still, local governments in New Jersey have indicated they will be hard-pressed to stay within the cap without additional mandate relief.

But Cuomo's cap would be much more stringent, leading to questions about whether he would have to accept additional exemptions in order for it to pass in the Democratic-led Assembly, which under Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, has resisted a tax cap.

"I think the speaker would want to make (exemptions) a key component of it," said E.J. McMahon, executive director of the conservative Empire Center For New York State Policy, which supports a tax cap.

But McMahon said, "I think Cuomo understands that if you make exceptions, you basically don't have a cap and then he's the one who is going to be punished by voters when they say your cap is bogus."

For example, the Empire Center said in a report last week that the rise in pension costs alone in the coming years would equate to a yearly property-tax increase of about 3.5 percent.

Cuomo's cap would apply to schools and all local governments, including fire and other special districts. The only exemptions would be for "large legal settlements or extraordinary capital expenditures," according to his campaign policy book.

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He would allow for exceptions if governments sought consolidations as a way toward long-term savings.

The state Senate has passed a 4 percent tax cap several times in recent years, also offering few exemptions.

Local governments and schools in recent days have warned that a tax cap is untenable if mandates imposed on them, such as Medicaid costs and inflexible labor relation laws, aren't reduced.

On Thursday, taxpayer groups railed against the tax cap, saying it would not provide the savings that homeowners need. New York's property taxes are 79 percent above the national average, reports have shown.

The groups instead want a program that would tie property taxes to household incomes, a plan known as a circuit breaker. But that program would cost at least $1 billion a year to establish at a time when the state is facing a $9 billion budget gap.

Legislator Susan Zimet, D-New Paltz, said a tax cap is a nice political sound bite, but it wouldn't help taxpayers or local governments cope with rising costs.

She warned that a tax cap with exemptions would also be a failed policy.

"If you put forward a plan that needs exemptions, then it's obviously not a good plan," she said.

Franconia OKs budget with 12 percent tax hike

Posted: 18 Dec 2010 05:06 AM PST

By Bob Keeler
Staff Writer

Franconia Township property owners will see their property tax bills increase by a little less than 12 percent next year.

Final approval of the 2011 budget and the new property tax rate of 1.19 mills was given by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors Dec. 13.

The new rate puts the township property tax bill for a home assessed at $150,000 at $178.50. The bill this year for the same property would have been $159.71. A mill equals $1 for each $1,000 of assessed value.

Next year's budgeted general fund income and spending totals $6,007,597, according to a written summary. That's about a 1 percent decrease from this year's general fund.

Major expenses include $2,594,293 for the police, $882,131 for the public works department, $706,694 for township administration and $166,420 for professional services, including tax collectors, lawyer fees and engineering costs.

Township police officers will receive a 3.5 percent pay hike next year under the terms of their contract. Other township employees will get a 1.5 percent pay raise.

The new 1.19 mill rate includes .9 mills for the general fund (a .126 mill increase from this year's .774 mills), .125 mills for fire protection and .165 mills for the library. The fire protection and library rates are unchanged.

By Bob Keeler
Staff Writer

Franconia Township property owners will see their property tax bills increase by a little less than 12 percent next year.

Final approval of the 2011 budget and the new property tax rate of 1.19 mills was given by the Franconia Township Board of Supervisors Dec. 13.

Next year's budgeted general fund income and spending totals $6,007,597, according to a written summary. That's about a 1 percent decrease from this year's general fund.

Township police officers will receive a 3.5 percent pay hike next year under the terms of their contract. Other township employees will get a 1.5 percent pay raise.

Property Tax

Saturday, December 18, 2010

“Average Boston homeowner can expect $220 tax increase” plus 2 more

“Average Boston homeowner can expect $220 tax increase” plus 2 more

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