Town's tax rate might go down

Town's tax rate might go down

Tara Vocino Reporter TEMPLETON The tax rate will be set on Monday night at a joint meeting with the Board of Assessors and the Board of Selectmen — and it appears to be good news. According to interim Town Administrator Robert Markel, the tax rate is estimated to be 15 to 17 cents lower, depending upon the recommendation by the assessors and acceptance by the selectmen. The tax rate for fiscal  2015 was $16.64 per 1,000 of property valuation. It is estimated to be $16.47 for fiscal 2016, pending Monday’s meeting, Mr. Markel said. It was $16.24 in fiscal 2014. Mr. Markel credits the good news to the competent staff of financial officials who do their job and provide accurate information. He said they work together as a team. However, it wasn’t always that smooth. “Part of the reason that the town’s finances and politics were chaotic was because we didn’t have people in town offices,” he said. “Positions were vacant,” Mr. Markel said. “Work wasn’t getting done. We’ve had tremendous turnover in the past four to five years. People were fired, and people came to work, only to quit. But now we have a stable situation, where people are trained to do their job well.” Mr. Markel said the town’s finances are fairly complex and can’t be dealt with by an unstable force of people. He said when he came to Town Hall, there was a part-time accountant who also worked in another community. He called the current town boards “level-headed and responsible.” Mr. Markel said they have made changes in the budget throughout the year to provide more revenue. The town bid contracts with the health and general insurances. “Those are our two big-ticket items to bring costs under better control to lower the town’s expenses,” he said. “They have taken some slack off the budget.” He also said the good news is due in part to the town’s growth. “If people open a new business or put an addition onto their house, they pay more taxes,” Mr. Markel said. “There’s a modest residential and commercial growth that will expand the tax base.” He said the industrial and commercial tax rates will also be decided on Monday. “The town hasn’t split the tax rate, because that can be perceived as being anti-business or asking businesses to bear more of the burden,” Mr. Markel said. “But the law permits us to decrease the residential and raise the industrial and commercial tax rates.” He said the town sends out estimated tax bills in the first and second quarters of the year during the summer and fall. Then, the bills are corrected, and the tax rate is set. “Anytime the tax rate goes down, it becomes good news,” Mr. Markel said. Mr. Markel encouraged residents to contact him at townadministrator@templeton1.org with any questions before Monday’s meeting.