At the Tax Classification Public Hearing on Tuesday, November 15, the Board of Selectmen voted to keep a single tax rate for all property classes for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY2012). The decision was made after presentations by Board of Assessors Chairman, Dr. John Duffy, and Principal Assessor Bob Bushway.
The total value of Hopkinton’s taxable property is $2,758,589,837 of which 83.4% is residential and 16.6% is a combination of commercial, industrial and personal property. According to Duffy, the percentage split between residential and commercial has remained constant over the last 10-12 years.
The average single family property assessment is $474,038, up slightly from last year’s value of $472,457. The average assessment for a condominium is $239,085, also up from last year’s value of $222,217. Based on the current tax rate of $16.73 per thousand, the average tax for a single family property is approximately $8,000. According to Duffy, the assessors are unable to estimate the FY2012 tax rate at this time, since they do not yet have all the necessary information to do so.
While Duffy gave an overview, Bushway’s presentation included more details. To begin with, Bushway explained that the purpose of the hearing is to provide information so that the selectmen can determine if there should be a shift in the tax burden between property classes. The hearing does not determine the tax rate, nor does it determine how much money can be raised by taxation.
Bushway also presented trends over time for property values and tax rates. Property values peaked in 2007 at $550,265 for a single family home and have steadily declined since then to the current value of $474,038. Changes are driven by the real estate market. Hopkinton’s tax rate, on the flip side, has steadily increased from $12.67 in fiscal year 2006 to the current rate of $16.73.
Bushway also compared the allowable and actual tax levies over the last few years. In 2007 through 2009, Hopkinton taxed up to the allowable limit. For the last two years, the actual levy was below the allowable limit, resulting in approximately $900,000 in excess levy capacity.
Bushway also identified the top five tax payers in Hopkinton:
- EMC – $139,562,600
- Hopkinton LNG – $32,093,800
- NStar Electric – $26,375,650
- RREEF America – $24,367,800
- Verizon New England – $24,305,000
It was also shown that any shift in the tax burden to commercial and industrial tax payers would result in minimal savings for the residential payers and would cause significant increases for businesses located in Hopkinton.
Dan Loureiro, EMC’s Senior Financial Controller, spoke briefly asking the board to consider and keep the single rate.
At the end of the hearing, all members of the board spoke in favor of keeping a single tax and voted unanimously to do so.