===OCR macOS Vision===
===PAGE 1===
Board reviewed and approved current expense vouchers, abatements, warrants, commitments, and
ayroll. September 12, 2017 minutes reviewed and approved during the past month by Rena and the
October 11"
minutes were reviewed and approved this evening.
Statutory Exemptions: Applications (21) for exemptions were reviewed. Board voted to grant all
application exemptions in the amount of $11,476.00
Louise reminded the Board that there will be a Special Town Meeting held Tuesday, November 28, 2017.
Rebecca reported that the Classification Hearing and presentation will be held on November 14 at 7:30
pm and that the estimated tax rate is $19.70. The Board voted to approve the single tax rate.
Rebecca informed the BOA that the property located at 255 Sunnyhill Road has been recently purchased.
The property currently is under Chapter 61B. The new owners have agreed to maintain the Chapter 61B
classification status and signed the form "Affidavit Pursuant to M.G.L. CH. 61 B " which was recorded on
October 30, 2017. (Bk 8947- Pg 272) A new lien will be available to review next month.
All Chapter Land Classification FY19 applications seeking renewal were returned. The Board reviewed
the applications along with Chapter 61A required financial supporting documentation. Approval was
granted on 64 applications and the BOA voted to "table" four applications for further information. Their
decision also included a "new" application seeking Chapter 61 A classification for property located at 357
& 341 Mulpus Rd. The BOA recommended that an appointment be set up with Town Counsel to discuss
Personal Property - Louise reported that personal property inspections conducted by Real Estate
Research Consultants, Inc. for FY18 have been completed and the report shows a total account number
of 536; which includes 49 second/summer homes. RRC has reported $4,795,020 in "growth" for FY18.
Louise also reported that out of the 536 accounts, 268 accounts will be billed that have a minimum cash
value of $2,500.00 compared to the 223 accounts billed last year.
Louise reported that the billing process is underway and a tax calendar has been reviewed by Karen
Brochu, Accountant. Karen will inform Sewer & Treasure/Collector Departments of the dates the
individual tasks/ processes will need to be completed in order to meet the deadline for returning the bill
file to the billing vendor.
Rebecca reported that the DOR reports have all been approved:
LA 13 - Tax base Levy Growth
LA-13A - Amended Growth
LA-15 - Interim Year Adjustment
LA-4 - Assessment Classification
The Board voted to meet next on Tuesday, December 6, 2017 at 5:45 pm. Meeting adjourned at 7:08pm.
RECEIVED & FILED
Respectally Submitted,
must Jaquitte
Administrative Assistant
Office of the Board of Assessors
FEB 1 4 2018
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
===PAGE 2===
Fiscal Year 2018
Tax Classification Hearing
November 14, 2017 @7:30PM
Lunenburg Board of Assessors
Lous J. Franco - Chairman,
Richard H. Letarte - Member
Rena Swezey - Member
Harald M, Scheid - Regional Assessor
Rebecca A, Boucher Associate Regional Assessor
Louise Paquette - Administrative Assessor,
Sheila Craigen-Assessing Clerk
RECEIVED & FILED
FED 1 4 2018
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
1
===PAGE 3===
recommendations made by the Board of Assessors.
Steps in Setting Tax Rates
Pre-classification Hearing Steps
Step 1: Determination of the property tax levy (Budget Process)
Step 2: Determine assessed valuations (Assessors)
Step 3: Tabulate assessed valuations by class (Assessors)
Classification Hearing Steps
Step 4: Classification hearing presentation (Assessors & Selectmen)
Step 5: Determine tax shift options (Board of Selectmen)
Step 6: Voting a tax shift factor (Board of Selectmen)
Post Classification Hearing Steps
Step 7: Sign the LA-5 Classification Form (Board of Selectmen)
Step 8: Send annual recap to DOR for tax rate approval (Assessors)
Step 9: Obtain DOR approval of tax rates (DOR)
Terminology
The following are definitions of the terms frequently used in the discussion of tax rates.
Levy: The tax levy (or levy) is the amount of property taxes to be raised. The levy amount
is determined by the budget. The total amount of the approved budget less revenues from
other sources like motor vehicle excise, municipal fees, and state aid is the amount to be
raised from property taxation.
Levy Ceiling: The levy ceiling is 2.5 percent of the full value of the Town. Based on the
Lunenburg aggregate valuation of $1,312,058,224 the town cannot levy taxes in excess of
$32,801,456.
New Growth Revenue: Property taxes derived from newly taxable properties like new
construction, additions, renovations, subdivisions, and personal property. The assessors
have tabulated new growth revenues of $481,496.
Levy Limit: Also referred to as the "maximum allowable levy", this is calculated by adding
2.5 percent of the previous year's levy limit plus new growth revenue for the present fiscal
year to last year's levy limit. Exceeding the levy limit requires an override of Proposition 2
2.
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===PAGE 4===
Levy increase allowed under Prop. 2 /½
Amended New Growth FY2017
New Growth FY2018
FY2018 Overrides
Debt Exclusions
Fiscal year 2018 levy limit
Levy ceiling
Levy to be raised
Excess levy capacity
Valuations by Class Before Tax Shift
Major Property Class
Value
Residential
$ 1,187,963,086
Commercial
$
66,034,778
Industrial
$
Personal Property
Total
$
20,822,700
37,237,660
$1,312,058,224
$551,370
$0
$481,496
$0
$2,760,808
$25,848,476
$32,801,456
$25,847,547.01
$928.99
Percent
90.54%
5.03%
1.59%
2.84%
100.00%
Res vs. CIP%
90.5419%
9.4581%
100%
Commercial,
Industrial,
Personal
Property as %
of Total Value,
9.4581%
RECEIVED & MILED
FED 1 / 2018
LUNENBUKG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
Residential &
Open Space %
of Total Value,
90.5419%
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===PAGE 5===
012-043-Mixed Use
36
300-393-Commercial 133
400-452-Industrial
29
500-550-Pers. Prop.
268
600's-Forestry
23
700's-Agricultural
35
800's-Recreation
34
TOTAL BY CLASS
5,124
20,003,086
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
1,187,963,086
6,965,549
57,668,800
-0-
-0-
44,761
365,324
990,344
66,034,778
60,000
-0-
20,762,700
-0-
-0-
-0-
-0-
20,822,700
TOTAL TAXABLE PROPERTIES
TOTAL TAX EXEMPT PROPERTIES (187 count)
-0-
-0-
-0-
37,237,660
-0-
-0-
-0-
37,237,660
1,312,058,224
80,919,500
Tax Rates
Based on an anticipated vote to maintain a single tax rate, the Board of Assessors has
calculated the following tax rates needed to raise the tax levy:
Property Class
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Personal Property
FX2017
$19.98
$19.98
$19.98
$19.98
EY2018
$19.70
$19.70
$19.70
$19.70
Note that the FY2018 tax rate is an estimate only and may change upon Department of
Revenue review and any potential Special Town Meeting actions.
RECEIVED & FILED
FED 1 ÷ 2018
Shifting the Tax Burden
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
Municipalities with a large commercial/industrial tax base often see fit to shift the tax
burden to help maintain lower residential taxes. Given Lunenburg's relatively small
commercial and industrial base, it would take a large shift in C/I taxes to yield a modest
residential tax reduction. For every $1.00 the commercial, industrial and personal property
tax rate is increased, the residential rate would only see a decrease of 114.
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$24.00
$23.00
$22.00
$21.00
$20.00
$19.00
$18.00
$17.00
$16.00
$15.00
None
110%
125%
150%
Property Type Examples
Residential Average Single Family
$
-Tax Bill Change
Residential Change %
Commercial Store/Restaurant
$
Tax Bill Change
Industrial Warehouse S
Tax Bill Change
CIP Change %
FY2018
Valuation
282,996
100%
5,575.02
500,000 S
9,850.00
2,200.000 S
·43,340.00
Taxes by Shift
110%
125%
150%
$ 5,516.78
$ 5,429.43
5,283.84
(58.24)5 5(145.59) $
29118)
-1%
-3%.
2-6%
$10,835.00
$ 12,312.50
$14,775.00
985.00
$ 2,462.50
$ 4,925.00
$47,674.00
$54,175.00
$65,010.00
$ 4,334.00
-$ 10,835.00
$ 21,670.00
10%
25%
50%
Tax Impacts
The residential classes, including single family homes, condominiums, and land will realize
modest valuation increases, typically in the 5-6% range. Commercial and industrial
assessments did not show evidence of a market value increase. Individual parcel valuations
may vary from the class average due to data updates and corrections, new construction,
•and the effects of market trends on their specific characteristics.
The average single family home value increased from $267,155 in FY2017 to $282,996 for
FY2018 and the average tax bill increased by 4.4% from $5,337.76 in FY2017 to $5,575.02
in FY2018.
5
RECEIVED & FILED
FED 1 : 2018
HE KENRURG TOWN
CERA OFFICE
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===PAGE 7===
$240,000
$230,000
$220,000
$210,000
$200,000
FY2014
FY2015
5256 969
FY2016
267,155
FY2017
FY2018
5 Year Average Single Family Tax Bill Lunenburg
$5,750.00
$5,500.00
$5,250.00
$5,000.00
$4,750.00
$4,500.00
$4,250.00
$4,000.00
$3,750.00
$3,500.00
$3,250.00
$3,000.00
FY2014
FY2015
FY2016
FY2017
RECEIVED & FILED
FED 1: 2018
LUNENBURG TOWN
CLERK OFFICE
FY2018
Board of Assessors Recommendation
The Board of Assessors recommends that the Board of Selectmen adopt a single tax rate to
be applied to all classes of property in Lunenburg.
Voting a Tax Shift Factor (proposed motion)
The Lunenburg Board of Selectmen votes in accordance with M.G.L., Ch. 40, Sec. 56, as
amended, the percentage of local tax levy which will be borne by each class of real and
personal property, relative to setting the Fiscal Year 2018 tax rates and set the Residential
Factor at 1.0, with a corresponding CIP shift of 1.0, pending approval of the town's annual
tax recap by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
6