Politics & Government

Sudbury Homeowners' Tax Bills Rising on Average by $294

Tax rates for homeowners decline by 4 cents.

Sudbury's Board of Selectmen approved a new tax rate during its Nov. 26 meeting, which will save homeowners 4 cents ($17.95 this year from $17.99 last year) per $1,000 of their home's assessed value.

But property owners of commercial, industrial and personal properties, also known as the CIP rate, will see a rise from $23.52 to $25.06, factoring in the new senior tax break Selectmen also accepted. 

In the end, both will see a 2.6 increase in their actual bills ($294 for the average home of $640,277 and $581 for the average CIP property of $917,389).

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Selectmen also had high praise for residents Ralph Tyler and Dave Levington on the new senior tax exemption that will save 118 senior citizens a total of $290,000 on their property tax bills this year.

Tyler and Levington, who were at the meeting, have spearheaded the efforts, along other seniors in town. The new exemption will account for 0.4 percent of Sudbury's estimated fiscal FY14 tax levy of $73 million. The maximum allowed under the new law is 0.5 percent.

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"I applaud for your efforts," Selectman Chair John Drobinski said to Tyler and Levington. "It shows what Sudbury is all about. You have the deepest thanks from the Board of Selectmen."

According Board of Assessor member Joshua Fox, six of the 124 seniors who applied for the program did not qualify. The identification of those who did not qualify will stay confidential.

"We began with what we hoped to be a user friendly application," he said. "I think we came up with a good result."

The tax model is designed to aid Sudbury seniors who are struggling to pay the high taxes on their homes. The model was approved by the Massachusettes Legislature last year, with hopes it could help other towns.

"It’s a partnership between the town and legislature," Tyler said. "If they said no it doesn’t go anywhere."

According to Fox, those who qualified for the tax exemption will receive savings from less than $100 to about $5,500 in FY14.

"Among the factors that determined the savings were assessed values of the homes and personal income," Fox said.

Overall, Sudbury homeowners will save a penny on their FY14 tax rate. The CIP will increase 11 cents. Fox said this is a result of changes last year to the average property assessments.


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