By BRIDGET TURCOTTE
SAUGUS — Home values have gone up and the average single-family household will pay $249 more on their tax bill next year.
The Board of Selectmen set the tax rate for residential properties at $12.05 per $1,000 assessment on Wednesday. The rate is a $.15 drop from last year. But the value of the average single-family home bumps up from $347,900 in Fiscal Year 2016 to a projected $372,900 in FY17.
The average tax bill was $4,248 in FY16 and $3,970 in FY15. Next year, the average single family home will pay $4,493.
“Saugus still remains one of the lowest in surrounding communities,” said Ronald Keohan, deputy assessor for the town.
https://newitemlive.wpengine.com/news/two-saugus-icons-unite/
Keohan said Lynnfield set a residential tax rate of $14.50 for FY17, Melrose for $12.33, Reading for $14.50, and Wakefield for $13.49.
“What I hear and what everybody hears, is ‘where does all that tax money from businesses on Route 1 go?’” said Town Manager Scott Crabtree. “That tax money goes towards paying the residential share of the tax burden. Our residents in Saugus pay lower taxes because of the commercial properties. It goes to maintaining a lower-than-average tax bill than communities around us.”
Commercial, industrial and personal property owners will be taxed at the maximum share of the tax levy, or 175 percent. They will pay $25.78, $.73 less than in FY16. The average commercial tax bill is projected to be $34,842, down from $35,542 last year.
The average commercial property in 2016 was valued at $1,340,700. In 2017, it is projected to rise to $1,351,500.
Michael Serino, chairman of the Board of Assessors, said half of the properties were assessed this year by Patriot Properties, the Marblehead-based developer of AssessPro, a highly versatile and comprehensive Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) application. The remaining 50 percent will be assessed next year.
Bridget Turcotte can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @BridgetTurcotte.