By Genevieve Jinson, Community Reporter
Northborough – The Northborough Board of Selectmen voted to sustain the town's single-tax rate for fiscal year (FY) 2013 following a public hearing during its Dec. 17 meeting.
The tax rate on the average single-family home will increase by approximately 1 percent, from $15.49 per thousand of valuation to $16.11. That would be approximately $67 for the average home, and is $126 less than what was initially estimated at the April Town Meeting, officials said.
The vote will maintain the tax rates for different classes of property: Residential, Open Space and Commercial, Industrial and Personal Property (CIP).
Before the vote, Town Administrator John Coderre presented an overview of the town's growth. The town's total valuation has increased to $2.49 billion, an increase of $12.6 million from FY 2012, he noted. The total growth of Northborough for FY 2013 is at an all-time high at $92.9 million. Of the $92.9 million in growth, $74.2 million is from real estate (residential, commercial and industrial) and $18.7 million is from personal property. Of the $74.2 million in real estate growth, $55.4 million is from commercial, with $54.9 million of that amount from Northborough Crossing.
The percentages of the town's tax base continue to shift. In FY 2011, 78.4 percent of the tax base was residential and 21.6 percent was CIP. In FY 2013, 74.6 percent is residential and 25.4 percent is CIP.
“All in all, this is terrific news for us… it's terrific news for the taxpayers, particularly the residential taxpayers,” Coderre said. “Essentially what you have is a natural market shift of who is bearing the brunt of the tax burden… the brunt is going from residential to commercial.”
Selectman Jeff Amberson agreed.
“Part of the reason companies want to do business in Northborough is because of the tax rate and the fairness of the system,” he said. “To me, the single tax rate is working: it's attracting businesses to town and in turn it's helping the residential taxpayer.”
Coderre also discussed how the recent economic development of the town has diversified the town's tax base. He presented a list of the top taxpayers, which included a variety of sectors, including real estate, retail, utilities, logistics, warehousing, and research and development.? Northborough Crossing was at the top of that list, with approximately $1.7 million in proposed FY 2013 taxes.
“Overall you can see things are in very good shape in Northborough,” he added.