FY16 final tax bill numbers

Westford town property tax bills are broken out into two components:  education tax and municipal tax.  The school budget only affects the education tax portion of your bill.

The budget numbers are known when we go to the voting booth, but the resulting tax rates are not, as tax rates are not set until after Town Meeting Day budget votes.  We provide estimated tax rates during budget development that are based on conservative recommendations from the state.  Using conservative estimates often shows the worst case, which doesn't always come to pass.  This year was no exception, as estimated rates fluctuated dramatically during the legislative session.  It does illustrate how using early tax rate estimates may not be the best way of determining the quality of a proposed budget.

The state recommendations were changed after Town Meeting, as most school budgets came in lower than expected and the House passed a lower base rate.  This number was used for the reconsideration vote materials.  The final base rate numbers changed once more when the Senate proposed and passed its education bill amendments.

So...where does that leave us?  Below is a summary of changes:

Homestead tax rates landed in the middle of the two projected numbers, but the legislature backed off completely on increasing the Income Sensitivity rate.

After accounting for our district spending adjustment and Common Level of Appraisal, the actual rates Westford residents pay is below:

Actual Westford rates are $1.5266 for Homestead and 2.82% for Income Sensitivity.

Homestead tax rates ended halfway between our estimated numbers (increasing 3.95%), but the Income Sensitivity rate dropped drastically (from a 9.35% increase to a 1.44% increase).

The full state-provided tax rate calculation sheet for Westford (and all other towns) is available at http://www.state.vt.us/tax/pvredtaxrates.shtml.

The best way to understand how your education tax rate has changed is to compare the new bill to previous years.  Depending on your income, assessed home value, and type/amount of land, you may be paying different rates for different parts of property you own.  Most people pay at least a portion of their taxes based on the Income Sensitivity rate.  The above chart is a good overview of what to expect, but each situation will be different.