Saugus tax rate goes up

SAUGUS-The Saugus Board of Selectmen voted yesterday to increase the town’s tax rate by 2 ? percent. The tax rate for the 2009 fiscal year will be $9.17 per thousand for residents and $19.76 per thousand for commercial properties. Town Selectman Michael Kelleher was not present for the hearing.The Board of Assessors had recommended that taxes be increased to 2 ? percent over last year, which is the maximum raise allowed under Massachusetts state law.”It is the desire of the Board of Assessors that the increase be less than 50 cents a thousand over last year’s $8.76 residential rate,” wrote Dr. Frederick J. Wagner, chairman of the Board of Assessors, in a statement issued regarding the hearing.Town Selectman Peter Rossetti said at the hearing that he believed Saugus to have one of the lowest taxed rates on the North Shore.”We are the lowest,” said Dr. Wagner, “and I’m sure the public appreciates that.”Wagner said with a falling economy, the task of setting the town’s tax rate has taken a year of hard, tedious work by the clerical staff and assessors.”In all of the years that I have been chairman of that task, this has been the most challenging and discouraging,” said Wagner. “During all of the 25-30 years of assessing, I have never seen a collapse so disastrous in the housing market, and signs for the future are not very encouraging.”According to the Board of Assessors figures, the median price of Saugus homes dropped from $339,000 to $305,200 in just one year. Only 18 homes were built in the past year, and of 12,000 parcels, only 800 or so have maintained their 2007-2008 values.Wagner said total residential values dropped from $3,437,405.859 to $3,285,642,265 but commercial, industrial, and personal property values have increased by more than $44 million, which he said helped neutralize the residential loss.”The 800 properties that haven’t depreciated are the $700,000, $800,000, $1 million homes. It’s the $300,000 homes that have dropped in value,” said Dr. Wagner at the hearing. “It seems strange, but it’s true. It’s because of the economy. They’re not selling, or they’re selling low, or they’re foreclosing.”Selectman Stephen Horlick was concerned that a lot of town residents were going to be looking for abatements due to the economy. Dr. Wagner said he wasn’t worried.”In all my years as an assessor, we’ve always been able to keep the taxpayer happy,” he said. He said he had no reason to believe that this year wouldn’t be the same.