SAUGUS — The Saugus Board of Selectmen voted, 5-0, Tuesday to approve a minimum residential factor that will shift the town’s tax burden from its residential class to its commercial, industrial, and personal property classes by invoking a 175 percent limit allowed by the state.
In doing so, the selectmen stated residents should feel less financial strain as those classes take on more than one third of Saugus’ property tax burden, despite accounting for only 18 percent of the town’s total taxable value.
Following the move, residents can expect to see their property tax bill increase by $404 to $5,772 in fiscal year 2021.
“(This) gives the residents some relief and shifts some of the money over to the businesses,” said Board of Assessors member David Ricciardelli. “It helps the residents of Saugus on the residential side and the commercial (side) picks up the burden and keeps the tax rate at a reasonable rate.”
A tax rate analysis provided by the town’s Board of Assessors noted that with the shift, the average $14.71 rate paid by single family homes would drop to $12.34, and the average rate paid by commercial businesses and properties would increase from $14.71 to $25.74.
Selectman Michael Serino noted that commercial properties would be responsible for roughly $21 million in property taxes, while residents would be responsible for roughly $53 million.
“Every year that I remember, we have voted for this shift,” said Selectwoman Debra Panetta. “We’re very fortunate that we have a rich commercial population here in Saugus so that the residents do get to have the opportunity to have a lower tax rate than we would normally have.”
Under the new rate, Selectman Jeff Ciccolini said the average household will see a 7.5 percent increase from fiscal year 2020, although that number includes borrowing associated with the town’s middle-high school project. He noted that number was significantly less than what the town anticipated ahead of FY21.
Ciccolini also pointed out that at $5,368 for FY20, Saugus had the lowest average single-family tax bill out of a number of comparable communities, including Lynnfield at $9,055, Melrose at $7,015, Reading at $8,748, Stoneham at $6,98, and Wakefield at $7,099.
“If you look at where we sit as a community, our services are second to none,” he said, calling Saugus “one of the best deals on the North Shore as far as tax rates and affordability.”
“The residents should understand that yes, it’s an increase, but it’s less of an increase than we had planned for based on the projections that were done when we were going to get the middle-high school project approved,” Ciccolini said. “It’s a seven and a half percent increase, but because of the bond rating and the savings that we’ve had from our original projections, there were multi-million dollar tax savings (from what the town initially projected).”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
