Marblehead to increase property tax rates for FY’09

MARBLEHEAD – The Board of Selectmen has cleared the way for the Board of Assessors to set a Fiscal 2009 property tax rate of $8.99 per $1,000 valuation.That’s a 65-cent increase over the current year.According to the report prepared by the Board of Assessors for the selectmen Wednesday night, the value of the median single family home dropped from $541,000 to $519,000 in 2007 – the assessors use real estate values in place as of Jan. 1, 2008 to set next year’s tax rate. That’s a drop of $22,000 or 4.1 percent.However, the median single family tax bill will rise from $4,511 in Fiscal 2008 to $4,665 this year. That’s an increase of $154, or 3.4 percent.In the past two years that median assessment dropped $42,000, but the tax bill has increased $312.Board of Assessors Chairman John Kelley said the town has not overbuilt and local lenders have not granted no-verification mortgages, leaving the town in better shape than many communities nationally and even some neighboring communities in Massachusetts.He predicted that in Fiscal 2010 the assessors’ report will show real estate values dropping another 5 percent at most. “We’re in pretty good shape,” he said.Assistant Assessor Michael Tumulty walked the selectmen through the report. Assessors Anne McCarthy and Douglas Percy were also in attendance.The town’s overall valuation of $5 billion included $65.8 million in new growth.On Tumulty’s and the Board of Assessor’s recommendation, selectmen rejected any tax classification factor, which would have reduced the residential tax rate at the expense of business. Selectmen also rejected residential and small commercial exemptions and an open space discount.