West Bath voters approved the proposed $2.37 million municipal budget Thursday, which is expected to keep the town’s property tax rate flat.
Although spending is down about $33,400 from last year, representing a 1.39% decrease, town administrators don’t expect the dip to change the town’s current property tax rate of $10.50 per $1,000 of value. This means a home valued at $200,000 will maintain its current $2,100 property tax bill.
The newest expense in the budget is a $150,000 allocation for an upcoming revaluation. West Bath’s last revaluation was in 2006, according to town documents, well past the recommended 10 years.
Municipalities assess properties to determine their tax rate and distribute the tax burden among property owners. But values change over time, so municipalities periodically have to conduct re-evaluations, adjusting currently assessed values to the market rate.
In addition to the cost of the revaluation itself, the town also set aside an additional $12,000 to pay for software and training necessary for the process and other administrative functions like tax collection and assessing, said Town Administrator Kristine Poland.
Aside from those increases, the new budget includes a $219,000 decrease in the road capital budget compared to last year’s spending. Poland said that money was allocated last year to pay for a culvert replacement on Sabino Road.
The other larger decrease noted is a $30,000 reduction in the budget for maintenance and repairs on town buildings. Poland said administrators aren’t adding funds to the capital account this year.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
