Selectmen said the tax rate increase is too high.
LUDLOW - The Board of Assessors Tuesday night announced a fiscal 2012 residential tax rate of $16.98 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of 8.2 percent over the current year’s rate of $15.70 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
Assessors Chairman Beverly Barry told the Board of Selectmen that the new tax rate is based on the budget approved by voters at last spring’s annual Town Meeting.
“I live in Ludlow, and I don’t like to see the increase,” Barry said.
The new tax rate, which still needs approval by the state Department of Revenue, means that taxes on the average $212,000 home in town will increase by $232 from $3,382 last year to $3,613 this year, Barry said.
Selectman John Da Cruz said, “This is a huge increase. My eyes popped out of my head when I imagine the phone calls from residents.”
Selectman Antonio Dos Santos said that in the future the town is going to need to “tighten its belt.”
“We are going to need to spend less at Town Meeting, going forward,” he said. He said the town is going to have to lower personnel cuts even if it means providing fewer services.”
Selectman William Rooney said, “From the perspective of the average taxpayer, we are spending too much.”
Da Cruz said, “People are out of work and laid off. The timing could not be worse.”
Rooney said that for next year the state is projecting a $1 billion budget deficit, so there is not likely to be any increases in state or federal aid next year.
“This is sobering,” Da Cruz said.
Dos Santos said, “The picture is not going to be pretty next year.”
The assessors said the average commercial tax bill next year is going to be increased by $554 from $6,629 to $7,183 on a $423,000 commercial property.