Property Taxes Rise, Along With Town Budgets

Property tax bills went out, and while homeowners continue to pay less than those on the mainland, their tax burden will be heavier.

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Aquinnah Scrambles to Address Budget Shortfall
Alex Elvin

Facing an unexpected budget shortfall, Aquinnah town leaders will call a special town meeting early next month to decide how to balance the budget. Town officials have discovered a $101,564 deficit.

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Towns Slow to Set Tax Rates in Revaluation Year
Ivy Ashe

With all six Island towns in a revaluation year for property assessments, tax rates have been slow to arrive this year. Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and Tisbury all saw increases in total valuation.

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Tisbury Tax Rate Creates Discussion
Ivy Ashe

Tisbury’s annual tax rate classification hearing ended without resolution and will be continued next week after delays at the state level left selectmen unable to set a tax rate for the coming year. The hearing saw a large turnout.

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Tax Rate Set In West Tisbury; Sale of Farm Lot Discussed
Ivy Ashe

West Tisbury selectmen this week approved a new tax rate and discussed whether to intervene in the sale of a prime lot at an old farm.
At a public hearing Wednesday the board voted to approve a single tax rate of $5.26 per $1,000 valuation. The rate is an increase of 0.34 over the fiscal year 2012 rate of $4.92, and comes in response to a 5.5 per cent increase in the tax levy and a 1.5 per cent decrease in town property values, board of assessors director Kristina West said.

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Oak Bluffs Property Taxes Increase Slightly
Sara Brown

The average Oak Bluffs property tax bill is expected to go up by about $59 next year.

The Oak Bluffs selectmen Tuesday approved a proposed tax rate of $7.71 per $1,000 of valuation, a 32 cent increase from last year’s tax rate.

Principal assessor Dianne Wilson presented the proposed rate to the selectmen at a tax rate classification hearing, with the unanimous recommendation of the board of assessors.

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Tisbury Keeps Tax Rates Unchanged
Katie Ruppel

After a tax rate classification hearing on Tuesday, Tisbury selectmen voted not to apply a tax shift to commercial properties and to continue the 20 per cent residential tax exemption of the average residential property value. Last year the average residential property value was $784,700 allowing residents to subtract $156,940 from their property values before paying their taxes. This year the average residential value in town is $757,475 resulting in a tax exemption of $151,495.

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Assessors in Edgartown Flooded with Requests for Property Tax Relief
Ian Fein

A property tax revolt is quietly brewing on Chappaquiddick, where a large group of landowners have banded together and hired an attorney to challenge their latest property assessments.

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Vision Appraisal Defends Its Methods on Tax Assessments
Jack Shea

A growing group of West Tisbury taxpayers, furious at their property tax bills and concerned about how the taxes are computed, received little solace during a stormy two-hour informational meeting with Vision Appraisal Technology on Tuesday evening at the Howes House.

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Pondfront Owners Shocked at Tax Bills
Jack Shea

A dozen stunned West Tisbury property owners crowded the normally quiet town assessors meeting this week to question their assessments and tax bills, which have more than doubled this year.

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