Aquinnah taxpayers will open their mail eagerly next week.

Most will see up to a 19.4 per cent reduction in taxes.

The town’s tax rate is falling from $4.03 per $1,000 assessed valuation last year to $3.25 per $1,000 for the current year.

Assistant assessor Angela Cywinski received verbal approval from the state department of revenue this week of the new rate and expects to mail tax bills on Monday.

Third and fourth tax payments and applications for abatements are due at town hall on May 1.

Tax bills will increase for waterfront properties, Ms. Cywinski said, as a result of revaluation. Several factors contributed to the increase, according to Camille Rose, chairman of the selectmen, including an overall 30 per cent increase in home values and a 2008 budget with expenses and revenue on target.

“We’re aiming to keep dropping them,” she said of Aquinnah taxes, citing a 2009 budget flat with 2008 and a $156,000 savings from Island school assessments as positive trends for 2009.