DEERFIELD — The Selectboard adopted a single tax rate of $13.45 per $1,000 valuation for fiscal year 2026 on Wednesday night, an increase of 20 cents from last year’s rate.
The Selectboard followed the Board of Assessors’ recommendation against a split tax rate that would lower taxes on residential properties and raise taxes on commercial and industrial properties. According to Board of Assessors Chair Francis “Skip” Sobieski, adopting a split tax rate would drop the residential tax rate to $12.43 per $1,000 valuation and increase the commercial and industrial tax rate to $16.81 per $1,000 valuation.
“It’s important to keep it the same,” Selectboard Chair Trevor McDaniel said. “We’re grateful to have the industrial/commercial that we have.”
Sobieski agreed with McDaniel. “I don’t think we want to disincentivize businesses in any way.”
“I feel like our policy works, because we’ve got good growth,” McDaniel continued. “We’ve had businesses come to town, it feels like things are happening, so it doesn’t seem prudent to change now.”
Sobieski said the rate will bring the average tax bill for single-family homeowners to $6,283, a roughly $382, or 6.5%, bump from FY25. According to McDaniel, the value of an average single-family home in Deerfield has risen 37% since FY22, raising tax bills by 22%.
During its meeting on Monday night, the Selectboard in neighboring Sunderland also opted to use a single tax rate, following the recommendation of the Board of Assessors. However, the Board of Assessors has not yet recommended an FY26 tax rate for the Selectboard to adopt.