SWAMPSCOTT — Residents are in an uproar over the recent hike in their property taxes.
While the tax rate itself has not increased, the assessments of various homes across town have. Subsequently, the property tax bill for numerous Swampscott residents shot up.
Swampscott resident Alison Harris Leiby said her property tax bill increased by $800.
“I noticed the increase when I received my property tax bill a few days ago,” she said. “The assessments went up significantly. Our valuation went up by $84,000.”
Leiby said she was not informed that her house was being reassessed, and that the expensive bill came as a shock.
“Residents are not informed of the increase in valuation until the tax bill comes out,” said longtime resident Alice Winston, who ran for a seat on the Select Board twice in the 1980s and 1990s. “We are all aware of the tax rate.”
Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald said property is reassessed annually, and in accordance with the market rate.
“Someone might have put in a deck, or a new kitchen, or something that would make that assessment go up, in some cases, but on average, the rate has stayed the same. We are talking about the average rate, not individual property,” he said.
The housing market has increased in Swampscott this year (Zillow puts the growth at 7.7 percent), but Leiby believes that is not nearly enough for her home to jump $84,000 without making any major renovations. Winston said she spoke to a real estate agent about why the housing market in Swampscott, and even Marblehead, appears to be picking up.
“Because of supply and demand, houses are selling for huge prices which bring up (comparable houses). Apparently, Newton and Brookline prices have gone even higher and are not as affordable as on the North Shore,” Winston said.
Fitzgerald offered a similar explanation.
“The market is demanding higher sales values,” he said. “Swampscott is an extraordinary value. We have great schools, wonderful neighborhoods, and steady municipal finances.”
On Facebook, resident Christine Lake Erickson wrote that she has lived in town for more than two decades, and that this tax increase is the biggest she’s ever seen.
“Mine went way up too,” she commented. “They assessed my house (for) $72k more. That’s way too much. I went up $775.”
Another user, Krystal Pierce, recalled seeing an assessor looking at homes on her street last week, but she doesn’t understand “how they can add value to your home and raise taxes based on sitting in a car from outside.”
Winston believes the need for the increase may be related to the growing number of Swampscott employees.
“In the 52 years I have lived in town, I have seen a huge increase in personnel at Town Hall. There are assistants and assistants to assistants. There are so many employees that there is not enough office space. You would think that with all the new construction, that our taxes would be going down,” she said.
Leiby, like many others in town have indicated, plans to file an abatement in the hopes of reducing the level of taxation she suddenly faces on her home.
Fitzgerald said Swampscott has nevertheless done well with “keeping the average single-family tax bill steady over the last four years.”
Alex Ross can be reached at [email protected].
