Property owners to dig deeper for 2008 rates

Property owners in most local towns will pay a bit more this year, based on new tax rates set by the state Department of Revenue Administration.

The rate for Bedford, however, has gone down slightly and rates for Brookline and Hollis have gone down substantially. All three towns updated their property valuations.

Amherst’s new rate for 2008 is $20.06, up from $19.47, a 3 percent increase, which works out to be a $6,018 tax on a house valued at $300,000, $177 more than last year.

The new tax rate breaks down to $3.04 for the town, $13.82 for local schools, $2.18 for the state school tax and $1.02 for the county.

Total assessed value of property in Amherst has gone from $1.81 billion in 2007 to $1.84 billion this year.

Bedford’s new tax rate for 2008 is $18.95, down from $18.99, about two-tenths of a percent.

That means a house assessed at $300,000 will pay about $5,685 in property taxes this year, or about $12 less than last year.

The new tax rate breaks down to $3.81 for the town, $11.78 for the local school, $2.27 for the state school, and $1.09 for the county.

Bedford’s total assessed property values are $3.3 billion, up from $3.1 billion last year.

Milford’s new tax rate is $18.58, up from $17.49, so a property assessed at $300,000 will pay $5,574 under the new rate, a 6 percent increase, or $327 more than last year.

The new tax rate breaks down to $4.32 for the town, $11.13 for the local school tax, $2.13 for the state school tax, and $1 for the county.

The town’s total valuation is now $1.57 billion, up from $1.56 billion.

Tax bills that are due in December will reflect the new rates.

At press time the state had not yet released the 2008 tax rates for Wilton, Lyndeborough or Mont Vernon.

In Hollis the new rate is $20.95, $2.43, or 10 percent less than last year’s rate.

Brookline’s new rate is $24.24, a drop of $2.20, or 8 percent.

Local taxes are based on how much money a town agrees to spend for schools, public safety, public works, and other services, and include payments for county services, including the county jail, courts, and nursing home.

The school tax is a tax the state levies and redistributes, the result of a state Supreme Court ruling that education funding is unfair.