The North Adams City Council set a 1.67 tax shift for fiscal 2021 that will mean 2 cents more on the residential tax rate and 83 cents less on the commercial rate.
The council voted 6-3 to approve the shift after nearly 90 minutes of debate focused on the fairness of shifting the tax burden toward the residential during Tuesday's annual tax classification hearing. Councilors advocated for lowering the shift to help business as an economic driver while the no votes said it was unfair to further burden homeowners.
The estimated tax rates are $18.64 per $1,000 valuation and $39.83 for commercial, industrial and personal.
The average value of a single-family home is $155,312.13, up about $6,000 from last year. That means the average tax bill will go up $115.04, from $2,779.98 to $2,895.02. In contrast, the average commercial value is $423,000 meaning the average tax bill will be $16,850 — down from around $17,087 last year.
The city's valuation rose by $38,858,643 — about half that in residential — to $806,872,730. Total new growth was $4.4 million, almost all in personal property because of a change in how utilities are assessed as the result of a court case.
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