SAUGUS — The average residential tax bill will be $16 less next year.
The average tax bill was $4,493 in Fiscal Year 2017, $4,248 in Fiscal Year 2016, and $3,970 in Fiscal Year 2015. Next year, the average single family home owner will pay $4,477.
The Board of Selectmen set the tax rate for residential properties at $11.59 per $1,000 assessment, 46 cent drop from last year. The average single-family home value increased by $13,400 to $386,300.
“Saugus does remain the lowest among the surrounding communities,” said Michael Serino, chairman of the Board of Assessors.
About 90 percent of homes in Saugus are single family, while about 10 percent are multi-family, said Serino. A figure for the average multi-family tax bill was not immediately available.
Selectman Jeff Cicolini, who works as an accountant, said many residents don’t realize that a small decrease in the rate can translate to thousands of dollars on a tax bill.
“If you look at the average tax bill in Lynnfield, Melrose, Reading, or Wakefield, and forget the rates, the average tax bill is in the thousands higher than ours,” said Cicolini. “I think that’s more meaningful for our residents to understand that they’re getting similar services, they’re getting first responders and trash pickup and all that. People hear $12.05 and someone else is at $12.55, well that’s 50 cents. It doesn’t sound like much but if if you say our average tax bill is $4,400 and theirs is $8,800, that’s a huge difference.”
“We’re half the price (of Lynnfield) and we have a full-service, full-time fire department and no trash fee,” said Town Manager Scott Crabtree.
The average commercial, industrial, and personal property owners will be taxed at the maximum share of the tax levy, or 175 percent. They will pay $24.60 per $1,000 assessment, a $1.18 decrease from FY17.
Commercial property values dropped an average of $224,000 from $1,351,500 to $1,127,500. The average tax bill will decrease by $7,000 from $34,852 to $27,737.
Serino said taxpayers will not see the burden of the debt override for the new middle-high school until FY19.
