Friends, 
  
Most homeowners
    have received letters from the town with new, significantly increased,
    assessed taxable values.  
  
It is important to
    understand that a tax rate is set each year based on the money the town
    needs to collect through property taxes divided by the total taxable
    property value in town. 
  
So, your tax bill
    does not automatically go up when your assessed taxable value goes up. It
    really depends on how the value of your property changes compared to others
    in town and how the town budget changes from year to year. 
  
When the Budget
    Commission submitted the 2020-2021 budget to the Town Council, they
    computed an estimated tax rate of $8.20 compared to the current $9.23. 
  
For example, if
    your property was previously assessed at $264,200 and the new assessed
    value is $331,900 your taxes would be computed as follows 
  
Current Taxes:
    $264,200 X $9.23 = $2,438.57 
Estimated
    2020-2021 Taxes: $331,900 X $8.20 = $2,721.58 
  
or an increase of
    about $283.  
  
The actual tax
    rate for the 2020-2021 fiscal year will be finalized after any changes are
    made following the Budget Public Hearing and the budget is approved by the
    voters. 
  
Jodi Frank,
    Chairperson, Charlestown Residents United 
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