Wilton tax rate going down

WILTON – The property tax mil rate will be going down this year, the town’s assessor announced after meeting with Selectboard members Tuesday evening.

With the agreement of the board, Assessor Paul Binette set the rate at .02035 or $20.35 per $1,000 of property valuation. That represents a decrease from the previous fiscal year’s rate of .02065. The savings on a house worth $75,000, presuming use of the Homestead Exemption, would be $16.50, as compared to last year’s $1,135.75 bill. The savings on a house worth $100,000 or $150,000 would be $24 and $38.50, respectively.

The town benefited by keeping spending increases in check, Binette said, as well as approximately $2.3 million in new growth. The Homestead Exemption reimbursement to the town was also increased at the state level, with the state paying 62.25 percent of revenue lost by the town to the exemption. That’s up from last year’s reimbursement rate of 50 percent. That change netted the town $47,000 in new revenue, Binette said.

With the municipal, school and county assessments in hand, the board weighed the appropriate size of the overlay, funds typically used in the case of abatements or other adjustments. They also spoke to the importance of trying to maintain a stable rate year to year, avoiding putting taxpayers through what Binette termed as a “roller coaster.”

Last year, concerned about a potential wave of abatements following the revaluation, the board and Binette decided to hold the tax rate steady at the $20.65 per $1,000 of valuation in order to capture $130,000 in overlay. Things had gone smoothly however, Binette said, and less than $1,000 of that money had to be used for adjustments. With the excess money going into the healthy Undesignated Fund, board members suggested taking the opportunity to set a lower rate.

The rate of $20.35 per $1,000 would correspond to an overlay of $83,145, which is similar to the 2016 year figure.

The rate is actually set by Binette, as the town’s assessor, although he has historically looked to the Selectboard for a recommendation.

Binette said that tax bills would likely be mailed out in the next week to week-and-a-half.