Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
Published: 11/24/2021 12:48:07 PM
Valuations of homes in Wilton skyrocketed this year, so while the tax rate dropped, homeowners may not see those savings in their tax bills.
The total tax rate for Wilton this year, set in an emergency Select Board meeting Friday, is $19.22 per $1,000 of value. That’s more than a $10 drop from last year’s rate of $29.39. One of the main factors in the change is assessment of town property, which is up by about 47% this year. In 2020, the town’s total assessed value, without utilities, was $373,208,024. This year, the assessed value is $548,002,656.
“Our decisions were very much affected by how the market has been this last year,” said Select Board member Kermit Williams.
During Friday’s meeting, the board agreed to use $434,000 of the town’s undesignated fund balance to offset the tax rate. With that calculation, Williams said, those whose home value increased by 50% or less should see a reduction in their tax bill.
Under the new rate, if a home’s value increased from $200,000 to $300,000 or 50%, its tax bill would be $5,766, compared to $5,878 last year. If the increase was 60%, to $320,000, the bill would be $6,150.
The town’s assessed value is based on data from the last five years, but Williams said the past year’s housing market drastically impacted the valuation.
“It is a big jump,” Williams said.
Last year, due to COVID-19, the town was very conservative in its budgeting, Williams said, and requested about $1 million less in tax funds from the public. Though, as expected, the town also received much less in expected revenue, overall, the tax burden on the town from the municipality was down by about $200,000 and about $300,000 from the school, Williams said.
Because of the increased assessment, all four sections of the tax rate are significantly lower than last year. The municipal rate for 2021 is $5.65, compared to last year’s $8.70.
The county rate is 83 cents, a 42-cent drop from 2020’s rate of $1.25. The state education portion is $1.54 this year, compared to $2.18 last year. The local education portion of the tax saw the biggest drop, going from $17.25 in 2020 to $11.20 this year.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.
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