Town Meeting Appropriations and Property Taxes

Town Meeting appropriations determine the amount of property taxes you pay to the Town each year. If you are a home, business, or property owner, you will pay your property taxes in quarterly installments. Even if you are a tenant, a portion of your rent will go towards paying the property taxes on the building in which you reside.

Three factors influence the amount of property taxes you pay, only one of which the Board of Selectmen have control over:

• Expenditure amounts - these are set by Town Meeting every year when spending requests are approved by voters
• Property assessment values - these are determined by the Board of Assessors, an independent board comprised of fellow residents
• Tax classification - this is an allocation of tax burden between classes of property determined by the Board of Selectmen

How to Determine Property Tax

This can be calculated by using the following equation:

• Property Tax = (Assessed Property Value x Property Tax Rate) / 1,000

Please note that, if applicable, other charges, such as local improvement charges (i.e., sewer betterments) may be added to the tax bill.