Published December 31, 2020

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — The town’s new tax rate for Fiscal Year 2021 is up three cents over FY20, to $15.63 per thousand dollars of valuation.

The state Department of Revenue (DOR) officially certified this rate Dec. 17, about one month after the Select Board held its annual tax classification public hearing Nov. 16.

An estimate of the town’s FY21 tax rate was not available in time for that public hearing due to a glitch in the software used by the DOR which municipalities are required to use to calculate the fractions of pennies the rate was anticipated to vary from the previous year. Even though the Select Board recommends the tax rate each year, the board is not in charge of setting it; the Board of Assessors does that. The tax rate does not become official until the DOR certifies it which typically occurs shortly after the Select Board makes its recommendation.

The Select Board does determine whether to split the tax rate, which has only been down twice in the past, in 1985 and 1988, as it is not deemed beneficial due to the negative impact on the town’s very small Commercial, Industrial, Personal (CIP) tax base with minimal savings for residential rate payers.

The DOR tax rate recapitulation report for FY21 certifies that 87.5946% of the town’s tax levy comes from residential properties which are valued at $3.08 billion to give the town a residential tax levy of $48,159,520.

The town’s commercial tax base is 6.6158% and valued at $232,717,436. It will generate a tax levy of $3,637,374.

Industrial property makes up 4.1632% of the town’s tax base with a valuation of $146,443,300 and a tax levy of $2,288,909. Personal property in town consists of 1.6264% of the tax base at a value of $57,209,510. It will generate a tax levy of $894,185, completing the CIP classification.

Tax bills will be mailed to all taxpayers shortly if they have not already been sent. The first quarter of taxes is due Feb. 1.