Meeting Sept. 29, the Whitefield Board of Selectmen agreed to a relatively small increase in the town’s mil rate, setting the rate for 2015-12016 at 14.7 mils.
The rate accounts to a tax bill of $1,470 for a $100,000 property. The previous year’s mil rate was 14.2.
The increase is lower than selectmen expected with the increased appropriation for road work approved at town meeting.
Despite an increase in the municipal budget and the local contribution to RSU 12, the 2015-2016 mil rate is lower than 2013-2014 mil rate of 15.2. The municipal budget rose from $944,626 in 2014-2015 to $1,051,156 in 2015-2016, largely because of the roads budget.
The local contribution to RSU 12 increased from $2,063,070 in 2014-2015 to $2,106,573 in 2015-2016.
A larger increase in the mil rate was avoided through use of $110,000 in surplus to reduce the tax commitment.
Due to the updates made to Whitefield’s personal property tax list, the town is expecting to receive a dramatic increase in revenue from the Business Equipment Tax Exemption, BETE, program.
Whitefield anticipates it will receive $9,666 from the BETE program in 2015-2016 – the previous year the town received $96.
Despite the increased tax commitment being lower than anticipated, the vote to approve the new mil rate of 14.7 was not unanimous on the select board, with Selectman Lester Sheaffer voting in opposition due to the amount raised for overlay.
Overlay is the only addition to the tax commitment that does not require voter approval. Selectmen are allowed to raise up to 5 percent of the town’s total valuation in overlay, an account used to offset tax abatement requests.
Whitefield selectmen had the ability to raise up to $142,412 in overlay for 2015-2016 – they decided to raise $34,019. According to Sheaffer, the figure was too high and he advocated for its reduction to $24,000, equal to the amount of tax abatements granted the previous year.
Sheaffer’s fellow selectmen, however, felt the $34,019 figure was fair and needed if Clary Lake shorefront owners in Whitefield begin to request tax abatements, due to the depleted water level of Clary Lake.
Whitefield adds an additional $10,000 in valuation for lakefront property. With an estimated 40 lakefront owners in Whitefield, property on Clary Lake adds an additional $400,000 to the town’s overall valuation.
With Clary Lake’s water levels depleted to the point where property owners say they no longer have lakefront property, selectmen argued the overlay would be needed for any additional tax abatement requests.
