The Tisbury select board agreed this week to continue the town’s residential property tax exemption, which allows owners living full-time in their homes to pay a reduced amount.
State law allows towns and cities to offer residential exemptions of up to 35 per cent of the average home value in the municipality; seasonal communities, including the Vineyard, can go up to 50 per cent. In Tisbury, the exemption is 22 per cent.
The latest average home value in Tisbury, found by dividing the total value of residential real estate ($5,218,194,830) by the number of parcels (2,935), is $1,777,920, according to a summary from town treasurer Elena DeFoe.
For more than 1,100 eligible homeowners, the 22 per cent residential exemption reduces the taxable value of each property by $392,142.
The select board also voted to continue shifting 8.4 per cent of the town’s total property value from residential to commercial properties, a longstanding practice aimed at reducing the tax burden on homeowners.
Property values across all categories rose by 8.7 per cent in Tisbury over the previous year, totaling $5.6 billion, according to the treasurer’s report. The town plans to levy $39 million in taxes, a 2.3 per cent increase.
In other business Tuesday, the select board approved a $39,000 contract with the accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen to review of Tisbury’s municipal fees, revenue and tax structure.
Town administrator Joseph LaCivita said the company will inventory Tisbury’s current revenue practices, compare them to those in other Massachusetts towns and look for potential new revenue sources.
Eric Mason of CliftonLarsonAllen said the company will crunch all the numbers and make their recommendations in plain language.
“We want to understand … where your dollars flow, but also we want to make it clear and jargon-free for decision makers [and] policymakers to understand what those revenues look like now, how they compare to similar communities and how they’ll compare in the future,” Mr. Mason said.
Also Tuesday, the select board gave its blessing to the Vineyard Haven Harbor Cultural District and MV Youth Task Force to throw a First Night celebration downtown on New Year’s Eve.
Police chief Chris Habekost said his department is in favor of the event, which will include live music, crafts, refreshments and an 8 p.m. ball drop on Main street.