Cost of living is taxing in Saugus

SAUGUS – The Saugus tax rate will go up in the new fiscal year, which begins next July 1, but according to one town official, the jump could have been a lot worse.The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt the lowest residential rate possible. But even with that, the average homeowner will see a $207 per year tax hike (5.8 percent), with a new bill of $3,784.The new residential rate has increased by 41 cents to $12.02. The average home value has shot up by $6,700 to $314,800.Deputy Assessor Ronald Keohan credits the opening of the new Walmart on Route 1 as a major factor in keeping rates down.”You had a boost with Walmart,” Keohan said. “That was an additional $40 million in value.”Such value will produce a tax bill of $1.1 million from Walmart. However, that is a far cry from the town’s leading commercial taxpayer, Wheelabrator Saugus. The waste-to-energy facility holds a property value of $130.9 million for a tax bill of $3.5 million.Candlewood Court in Hammersmith Village holds one of the town’s highest property values at $635,100 coupled with a tax bill of $7,633.Although the town’s commercial rate will increase by $1.13 (4.4 percent) to $26.75, Keohan cited the difference between Saugus and Revere’s FY14 rate of $31.55.”We blow the socks off of Revere, they’re so high,” he said.In addition, the average business value declined slightly from $1.5 million to $1.4 million, yielding a $2,562 tax bill.”We’re still the best deal in town for commercial taxes,” said Keohan.He said the drop in commercial property value is not related to the anticipated opening of the methadone clinic in Godfried’s Plaza. Keohan said that a connection could only be made if a home is sold at a price that is significantly lower than its value.”The methadone clinic will have no effect until something sells,” he said.The board also had the option of adopting a residential exemption, something that 13 other communities have already done.However, Keohan warned against this, saying that only those residences that are owner-occupied can receive a 20 percent discount on property taxes. For everyone else, the rate would jump to $14.51 to compensate for those receiving the discount.”If we adopt this at the 20 percent, 1,977 taxpayers are going to love you to pieces – or 19.85 percent of them,” said Keohan. “7,981 taxpayers are going to hate you, because for the other 80.15 percent, all their tax bills go up.”