NORTHAMPTON — The city’s property owners can expect a moderate jump in their tax bills this year when third-quarter bills go out in January.
The City Council on Thursday, in second reading, approved a single tax rate for all property owners.
That new tax rate this fiscal year will be $16.73 per $1,000 of assessed property value, an increase of 57 cents from the current year. Owners of an average single-family home valued at $303,705 can expect to see their annual property tax bill go from $4,907.87 to $5,080.98, an increase of about $173.
By law, said City Assessor Joan Sarafin, the city can increase the rates by up to 2.5 percent of the tax levy limit each year.
“We’re raising extra money this year,” she said. “It’s because of the new construction in the city, new housing and new buildings.”
The rate still needs to be approved by the state’s Department of Revenue.
Sarafin said the city is working to pay off bonds on the police station, fire station and high school.
Councilors also voted to continue the decades-old practice of applying a single tax rate for commercial and residential property, which they said makes the city more attractive to incoming businesses.
Because the average commercial property in the city is higher, valued at around $620,000, the average commercial property owner stands to see an increase of about $354 per year.
“This is kind of one of the big things we do and it’s taken for granted,” said City Council President William Dwight, calling the decision to uphold the single rate “a gesture of goodwill and hope and faith” in the investments commercial property holders make in the city.
Still, said Ward 2 Councilor Dennis Bidwell, “there’s more to be done.”
“Let’s not let ourselves off the hook,” he said during Thursday’s meeting, referencing the city’s capacity to be friendlier to businesses than others with split tax rates.
And the desire to be more business-friendly, said Ward 5 Councilor David Murphy, speaks to the council’s commitment to its people.
“They generate money we spend on families,” he said, speaking to the services the city is able to provide with commercial tax dollars.
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.