Can You Afford A 6.4% Tax Rate Increase?

The Town Council votes tonight on a proposed budget of $121,143,428 for the coming fiscal year – a 2.2 percent increase over the current year’s spending.

The council met over the last few weeks and cut $1.46 million from the After approving the budget, the council sets a tentative tax rate, then sends the budget forward to Representative Town Meeting.

The Town Council's committee of the whole meets at 6 p.m. today in the Town Hall Annex, followed by a special meeting of the council at 7:30 p.m.

If adopted as proposed, the budget would result in a 1.21 mill increase in the tax rate, from 18.89 mills to 20.10 mills, an increase of 6.4 percent. So, for every $100,000 of assessed value, $2,010 in local property taxes would be owed, a $121 increase over 2012.

Can you afford this increase? If not, what can you afford?