A pair of newly-discovered bookkeeping snafus have sent Tisbury officials scrambling to reduce a $1.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override vote at the annual town meeting May 28.
The residential exemption would lower the tax burden of West Tisbury town residents, but could result in higher bills for people who own second homes or rental properties in the town.
The Oak Bluffs select board voted last week to adopt a 15 per cent residential tax exemption for fiscal year 2024, lowering property taxes on homes that are a person’s primary residence.
While the average payment in West Tisbury would have increased around eight per cent on each bill if spread across all four quarters, residents had to contend with the entire year’s increase in just the final bill.
Tisbury property owners will have an extra month to pay their real estate and personal property taxes, following a vote by town selectmen Tuesday that moves the due date from May 1 to June 1.
Property values increased this year on Martha’s Vineyard, topping $20 billion in total assessed value, according to figures from the six towns and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
