SPRINGFIELD – City council approved a lower tax rate for residents on Monday, but the average homeowner’s annual tax burden is set to rise by an estimated $ 123 due to rising property values.
By unanimous vote, the council approved a residential property tax rate of $ 18.90 per $ 1,000 of estimated valuation for fiscal year 2021, a reduction of 63 cents from the previous year’s tax rate of $ 19.53.
The commercial-industrial-personal property tax rate was fixed at $ 39.23, the same as the previous year tax rate.
City councils accepted the rates recommended by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and the City Council’s Tax Audit Subcommittee.
“I wish the bills didn’t increase because we know we still have problems in COVID time, but some relief is better than none,” said Councilor Tracye Whitfield, Chair of the Tax Subcommittee and Finance Committee.
The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce backed the tax rate proposal ahead of the vote, saying it understood that residents and businesses were struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
Large Kateri Walsh City Council commended city officials and the Chamber for agreeing tax rates, noting that no agreement has been reached in some of the past few years.
Richard Allen, chairman of the board of assessors, said that while the bill for the average single-family home increases by $ 123, there are many homes lower than that number and many homes higher than that number.
The average single family home increased from $ 163,000 last year to $ 172,900 this year. The valuation is based on the legally stipulated market value as of January 1, 2020 – and is therefore before the pandemic.
Sarno provided relief by transferring US $ 1 million from a city budget reserve known as “free cash” to the tax levy. This reduced the total tax charge from $ 228.5 million to $ 227.5 million.
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