BY MATT SCHOOLEY
The town of Bow has announced the tax rate for 2008, a number that may appear to lower taxes by almost one fourth, but higher property values will balance that out, resulting in higher tax bills.
A town-wide revaluation last year caused a drop from $27.99 per $1,000 property valuation in 2007 to $21.02 for the 2008 fiscal year tax rate – a 24.9 percent decrease.
Bow Town Manager Jim Pitts wants residents to be clear about why the rate dropped so dramatically. He said many people may think it has to do with budget cuts, but that’s not the case.
“That’s my concern, is that people will misunderstand. It’s because of the property revaluation that was done,” said Pitts. “If we hadn’t done the revaluation, the tax rate would have gone up. It’s misleading in that sense. We added millions of dollars of new property value in town, which caused the rate to go down.”
Had the revaluation not been completed, the tax rate would have increased by about 52 cents, he said.
The $21.02 rate consists of four different numbers. The town rate, which is $4.06, is down from last year’s $5.34. The local school rate also decreased from $16.79 to $12.59. Third, the state education rate of $2.31 is also lower than 2007, when it was $3.29. Finally, the Merrimack County rate also dropped from $2.57 to $2.06.
Though the rate dropped, Pitts said the reaction of those in the community won’t come until the tax bills are sent out in November.
“I will have to judge based on the tax bill they get. Some will get a bill that is less than it was last year, and others will see an increase,” said Pitts. “I thought the municipal portion was very dramatically cut at Town Meeting. Those cuts have had an impact on the services we provide, but the revaluation was certainly necessary.”
Pitts said the tax bills may result in different individual fluctuations, but everyone in Bow will fall in the correct category.
“The revaluation was well done so that the tax bills will be fair to everyone in town. Now there are no big discrepancies between the different classes (residential, commercial, etc.),” he said. “(The classes) have all been given a fair value. No one will be paying more than their fair share. That’s the whole reason to do revaluations.”