Town Election: Yes On Override; Wins For Taylor, Widmer, Moriarty And Kraft; Assessors Question Too Close To Call

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Photo: Warden Robert McKie reads out the preliminary results from precinct 2 on Tuesday night

Belmont voters approved a record $8.4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override by a comfortable 1,000-plus vote margin at the annual Town Election held on Tuesday, April 2.

The final tally was 5,120 in the yes column and 4,050 nos as voters accepted the positive argument from the “yes” campaigners to preserve public services and safety and protect Belmont schools from losing educators and maintain its outstanding reputation.

“I think it’s that people love their community,” said Erin Rowland, the campaign manager for Invest In Belmont, the “yes” campaign, when asked the compelling reason voters where willing to increase the property tax just three years after rejecting a smaller override request.

”We want the to see the town thrive and continue to be successful, and that’s the reason people came together. What was so heartwarming about working on the campaign was the outpouring of support from a wide range of residents,” she said in a crowded second floor lobby in Town Hall where candidates, observers and many candidates came after the polls closed at 8 p.m.

Invest in Belmont Chair David Lind said the town has “been through a hard few years and we were in a tough spot financially. I believe that [the override] gets us back onto a better track so we can all work together and keep Belmont as the town that we all know land love.”

Rowland, who was a winner in her race to be selected to Town Meeting from Precinct 6, said she fully understood that Tuesday’s results will be difficult for many residents, especially senior on fixed incomes.

”We are one community and we want to do everything we can to see Belmont implement senior [property] tax relief. We understand that need and it’s very real and we’ll do everything that we can to promote that,” she said.

In the night’s nail biter, voters approved making the Board of Assessors an appointed body by a mere eight votes, 4,218 to 4,210. With 50 ballots – from residents overseas and in the military as well as provisional ballots – yet to be counted, the race is too close to be called.

Final results will be released by the Town Clerk’s office by Friday or Saturday. Unofficial results as of Tuesday at 10 p.m. can be seen here.

In the race to replace Mark Paolillo on the Select Board, Matt Taylor defeated his Warrant Committee colleague Geoff Lubien by 600 votes, 3,851 to 3,248, with newcomer Alex Howard taking home 659 votes.

“I began [this campaign] genuinely wanting to connect with people and doing that in a deeply personal way,” said Taylor after feeling “so separated from our local government and our residents coming out of the pandemic. So I knocked on nearly 1,700 doors. I had a lot of one-on-one conversations. It was very grassroots.”

”I have a lot of hope and I’m ready to work because this is a level where you get to make a real positive difference about the people around you,” said Taylor. “We have to reach out to residents and invite them in to have a broader two-way discussion. It brings us together. This is an “us” thing.”

Voters acknowledged incumbent Meg Moriarty’s successful tenure as the two-term chair of the School Committee by returning her to the board. Moriarty topped the three-person field for the two available three-year seats garnering 5,354 votes.

“[Winning] means I get to keep talking about all of our great students and it’s all about doing best for every single student in our schools,” Moriarty said at Town Hall Tuesday night after the results were read by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

With her return to the School Committee, Moriarty will provide a continuity on the six member body “that helps tremendously” as it “helps keeps the momentum moving forward” on several of initiatives that Superintendent Jill Geiser has proposed.

Joining her on the committee will be first-time candidate Matt Kraft. The Brown University professor took home 5,176 votes, while recent Belmont High School graduate, current Emerson College student and Town Meeting member Angus Abercrombie collected 2,792 votes.

“I hope to take the opportunity to listen and learn both from my fellow school committee members and Belmont residents about our priorities and build on the three year strategic plan that the district is developing,” said Kraft who arrived to Town Hall with his wife and two kids after enjoying Taco Tuesday.

Speaking as the new body on the committee, “I think part of the hard work is to work collaboratively and collectively. And I look forward to those conversations that I know some will be difficult. But that’s the job. We all have a shared commitment towards strengthening our schools for all the students and in building towards, frankly, a brighter future.”

Challenged for the first time in 16 years, long-time Town Moderator Mike Widmer defeated former Warrant and School Committee member Mike Crowley, 4,656 to 3,248.

”People understood that experience is really important, and that running Town Meeting is very demanding. I’ve done it for all these years and voters felt that I had done well in the position,” said Widmer who announced earlier in the year that this term would be his final one as moderator.

Belmont Voters To Decide Assessors Future As Town Meeting OKs Change To Appointed Board

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Photo: Select Board Chair Roy Epstein

It will be up to Belmont voters to decide the future of the Board of Assessors when a special session of Town Meeting voted 156-87 with two abstentions to place a ballot question on this April’s annual Town Election to change the structure of the three-member board from an elected to an appointed body.

The vote, which took place virtually on Monday, Jan. 22, came nearly a year after a special Town Meeting voted 185-46 to change the town treasurer’s post to an appointed position, which town voters seconded in April 2023.

For Roy Epstein, chair of the Belmont Select Board, who shepherded the article through the public process and at the special town meeting, the article’s passage was a nod by the majority of Town Meeting Members on the willingness of town government to employ town resources to improve the town’s fiscal future.

“I would like to think people responded a little bit to what I said, but in a large sense, the vote was an expression of competence in the town administrator [Patrice Garvin],” said Epstein a day after the meeting. “It’s a vote of confidence of policy changes that the town will value and improve governance. That’s what people are looking for. And I think [Garvin] has been incredibly thorough in identifying ways to improve how government works, and I’m glad people are recognizing that.”

Supporters of the article were willing to agree that while there is a consensus the current assessors “operate at a very high standard” in determining the value of the real estate in town, said Epstein, there is an increasing need for the board to become a partner in the finance team – which includes the town’s appointed treasurer, the financial director, the town accountant and – that sets the town’s fiscal policy. The select board and town officials point to areas such as creating a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program and assisting in significant changes to the town’s zoning map in which the assessors’ knowledge and data will be the final critical piece in formulating “a more cohesive, collaborative working finance team,” said Garvin.

The select board or town officials expressed little confidence the current elected assessors are willing to support the town’s requests as both Epstein and fellow Select Board member Elizabeth Dionne each voiced their disappointment with the board’s response to numerous requests – such as establishing senior tax relief – from town committees and the board which were allowed to die on the vine.

“It didn’t happen and after four years of trying to make [senior tax relief] because it is a tax policy question. I just don’t think the collaboration between the Board of Assessors and the Select Board in the current form is working out. My view at this point is that there are better prospects for that type of coordination between different parts of town government if the board of assessors became appointed rather than elected, and that’s my principal reason for supporting the article in its current form,” said Epstein.

The Assessors’ long-time chair, Robert Reardon, defended the elected board in its current form since the town’s incorporation in 1859, calling it “an important aspect of checks and balances” in town finances with the prime role of the assessors “to set the [real estate] values independent of the budget process.”

While the assessors answer questions at public meetings and work with the town and committees on several fiscal areas, Reardon said the board rarely ventures beyond their core responsibilities of appraising real estate, deciding to grant or deny abatements, and voting on exemptions based on the person – such as seniors or disabled veterans – who owns the property. It has not expanded its reach into town fiscal policy due to state directives from the Department of Revenue.

“We don’t make policy,” said Reardon. “We have to take an oath to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and that oath is to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And by doing so … we’re limited on what we can do. We cannot implement any new tax policies in the town without the approval of the state legislature.”

Reardon also said that an elected board of residents “shows a commitment and a dedication by the candidates to serve the town,” which would be lacking by an appointed body that doesn’t have a residence requirement.

For most of the meeting, Town Moderator Mike Widmer successfully limited the debate to changing the board’s structure rather than discussing how either variation would alter town policies or finances.

Cosmo Macero from Precinct 5 said he would vote against the article as “there is accountability in elections … and being an elected official.” As for the lack of collaboration with town boards and elected officials, “it’s possible that the Select Board may need to look elsewhere as to what the problem was with the collaboration.”

“As a non-policy making body, I want them to only collaborate a little on policy. I want them to perform their very important duty which is to measure and assess the value of our property for the purpose of tax information,” said Macero.

Angus Abercrombie, Precinct 8, who submitted the citizen’s petition to bring the article before Town Meeting, asked if changing the Town Treasurer to an appointed post had produced efficiencies in that department that could be replicated in the Assessors’ office. Garvin said Treasurer Lesley Davison’s experience and knowledge in the position have resulted in “finding efficiencies every day which will only benefit the residents of Belmont.”

“I believe, based on the town and [its] managerial structure, we will be able to implement efficiencies that have long been long wanted by the finance team,” said Garvin.

Ira Morgenstern, Precinct 7, advocated the belief first mentioned by Liz Allison, Precinct 3, at a public forum a week earlier: Don’t fix what’s not broken.

“It’s not needed,” said Morgenstern of the article. Calling the current board “a great team,” Morgenstern then suggested that a “yes” vote would be “a further concentration of power to the Select Board [who would have appointing powers] and the Town Administrator … while reduces the oversight and … our internal controls.”

But for Claus Becker, Precinct 5, giving the Select Board the final say in appointing the assessors’ is the correct step as residents voted for the three-member body to enact its vision of the town’s fiscal future.

And just like last year’s vote to make the Treasurer an appointed position, the tally wasn’t that close, with the “yes” category garnering 64 percent of members.

Belmont Winter Special Town Meeting: Virtual Session Set For Jan. 22 On Board Of Assessors

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Photo: The current board of assessors (from left) Charles R. Laverty, Robert P. Reardon, Patrick Murphy with Dan Dargon, the Assessing Administrator

A winter Special Town Meeting is all set as the Belmont Select Board opened and closed the warrant for an all-virtual meeting assembly dedicated to a single proposition: to transition the Board of Assessors from an elected to an appointed council.

The fully remote meeting will occur on Monday, Jan. 22, 2024, at 7 p.m.

The article awaiting the members originated as a citizen petition from Precinct 8’s Angus Abercrombie for the fall Special Meeting in November. Due to the heavy agenda facing the meeting, Moderator Mike Widmer asked Abercrombie to have the petition moved to the new year, where it would receive the attention it deserved.

A recommendation in a 2022 review of the town’s financial structure by the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at UMass Boston, the change in the Board of Assessors structure will bring an essential element in the town’s fiscal structure under the umbrella of the financial director. Earlier this year, the post of Town Treasurer was made an appointed position.

The current board comprises long-time Chair Robert P. Reardon, Charles R. Laverty, III, and Patrick J. Murphy, IV.

Belmont FY ’24 Property Tax Rate Falls But Not Owners Bill; Average Single Family Price Tag Tops $1.6M

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Photo: Assessors Charles Laverty III and Bob Reardon with Assessing Administrator Dan Dargon before the Select Board during the annual property tax rate hearing, Monday, Dec. 4

In what could be the final time an elected Belmont Board of Assessors makes the presentation, the three-member board announced a drop in the fiscal year 2024 property tax rate during its annual property classification tax rate hearing before the Select Board on Monday, Dec. 4.

“The tax rate that’s going to be proposed by the Board of Assessors will be a decrease from a rate [of] $11.24 [per $1,000 of assessed value] for this year, down to $10.57 for fiscal year ’24,” Bob Reardon, the long-time Assessor’s chair, told the Select Board.

While it may initially sound like a windfall for homeowners, members from both boards told property owners not to expect a drop in their bills in the new year. Reardon said the vast majority of the decline of 67 cents was due to the increase in the value of all properties over the past year.

“Just because the tax rates are coming down doesn’t necessarily lead to people paying less,” said Reardon. “The tax rate is simply computed by the amount being raised divided by the total assessed value.”

“I think people hear, ‘Oh, the rates have gone down, great,'” said Select Board Vice Chair Elizabeth Dionne. “No, that is not what it means. This just means your [home’s] value is higher.”

Values for all Belmont property classifications increased in the past year. The town’s total residential and personal property assessment is $11.3 billion, up from $9.0 billion in fiscal year ’23.

The actual tax levy – how much the town can raise after increasing real estate by the maximum annual 2.5 percent – to be raised in fiscal year ’24 is $119.5 million, of which $106.3 million comes from the total levy for residential and commercial property. An additional $13.1 million comes from eight debt exclusions for everything from the construction of the Beech Street Center to the new Middle/High school. The debt exclusions for the new rink and library will be included in the calculation for the fiscal year 2025. According to Reardon, new growth collected in the past year “remains strong,” raising $876,069.

Despite higher-than-average mortgage rates, during which property values “usually take a dip,” Reardon told the board that due to a lack of inventory of houses for sale, the average single-family home in Belmont jumped to $1,615,200, an increase of more than 10 percent from $1,436,500 in fiscal year 2023.

With its presentation on Monday, the Board of Assessors will face a Special Town Meeting in the next two months, where members will be asked to change the board from its current elected members to an appointed board. Similar to the recent change of the town Treasurer from an elected to an appointed position, the Town Meeting would follow a recommendation of the Collins Center Report.

As in past years, the assessors recommended, and the Select Board agreed to a single tax classification and not to enact real estate exemptions. With barely five percent of Belmont’s property base commercial, Reardon reiterated past statements that commercial property must reach 30 percent to make a split rate effective and not deter businesses from staying or coming to Belmont.

While voting to approve the Assessors’ rate recommendation, the Select Board decides on two related issues: whether to implement a singular “split” rate for commercial and residential properties and to approve a residential exemption that would reduce the rate on owner-occupied properties at the expense of non-occupied residences. 

As for residential exemptions, the administrative costs to run such a program would be prohibitive for a revenue-neutral initiative. As with the split rate, two-thirds of rate payers would see little reductions or increases in their tax bill.

Belmont’s Property Tax Rate Drops But Average Yearly Bill Will Jump $900

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Photo: Belmont property owners will see an increase in next fiscal year’s tax bill

Property owners would see Belmont’s property tax rate decrease as the Board of Assessors presented a series of recommendations at a public meeting before the Belmont Select Board at its Dec. 5 meeting.

The Assessors propose a property tax rate for fiscal year 2023 of $11.25 per $1,000 of assessed value, a drop from the current rate of $11.56 per $1,000, according to Robert Reardon, long-time chair of the Board of Assessors. The Select Board voted unanimously to adopt the new rate.

But due to a hot residential real estate market that resulted in escalating home values, the average property tax bill for households will increase. According to the Assessors, the average value of a single family house in Belmont rose to $1,463,000, up a robust $116,800 from $1,346,300 in fiscal year 2022. The average value of a single family house statewide is $525,788.

With the Proposition 2 1/2 increase of the tax levy and the impact on the tax rate of nine debt exclusions – which includes the Senior Center, the Wellington Elementary School and three segments of the new Middle and High School – which makes up 12 percent of the total tax rate, the expected property tax increase on an average house will be approximately $900 for this coming fiscal year, according to Reardon. Without that additional debt, the tax rate would be $9.90 per $1,000.

In addition, the Assessors are recommending the town not create a split tax classification where commercial property would be taxed at a higher rate than residential homes., Reardon said since commercial real estate makes up just five percent of Belmont’s property base, a split rate would not raise any more in taxes while businesses would be hit with a significant rate increase while homeowners would see a very small reduction. The Select Board supported the recommendation.

As Belmont’s ‘22 Property Tax Rate Rises By Pennies, Higher Assessments Will See Average Bill Increase

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Photo: You’ll be paying more in taxes next year on your Belmont castle.

The Belmont Board of Assessors announced an increase of a couple of pennies to the fiscal year 2022 property tax rate from last fiscal year’s charge during its annual property classification tax rate presentation before the Select Board on Monday morning, Nov. 29.

“The Board of Assessors propose a tax rate of $11.56 per $1,000 of assessed value. That’s up two cents from last year,” said Charles Laverty III, the board’s vice chair stepping in Chair Robert Reardon who due to a scheduling conflict missed making the board’s presentation for the first time in nearly three decades.

Dan Dargon, the town’s assessing administrator who made the presentation, said the town’s total assessment has reached $9.001 billion with a total tax levy of $111.7 million, which includes $12.3 million in current total debt exclusions (for everything from the Beech Street Center to the new Middle and High school) resulting in the two cent increase to $11.56. Dargon noted that without the debt exclusions, Belmont’s tax rate would be $10.29 per $1,000.

New growth in the past year was higher than anticipated at $1,034,000 vs the estimated $840,000 as the Bradford apartment complex in Cushing Square was completed. [The town’s 2.5 percent increase and new growth are both added to the prior year’s levy limit to reach the current year’s levy limit.] But Dargon said it doesn’t appear the town will benefit from new large commercial growth for at least the next two years.

While it would appear the minimal rate increase would be a little bit of good news to rate payers, due to a modest four percent increase in appraised values over all classes of real estate – multi families and condominiums saw “stronger” jumps in value – homeowners will see their annual tax bill climb starting in January as the town increased the tax levy by the allowable 2.5 percent from $96 million to $99 million.

For example, on the average home in Belmont now valued at an eye-opening $1,346,700 (up from $1,326,300 last year), property owners will be handing over an additional $262 in fiscal 2022 with the total annual real estate bill now exceeding $15,000.

Last year, the average residential bill increased $706 when the rate rose by 56 cents per $1,000.

Dargon told the Select Board around 14 to 15 percent of all homes in town are inspected annually by his department for updating their value but all properties are revalued each year.

While the Assessors vote to approve the rate, the Select Board decides on two related issues: whether to implement a singular “split” rate for commercial and residential properties and to approve a residential exemption that would reduce the rate on owner-occupied properties at the expense of non-occupied residences.

As in past years, the assessors recommended and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. With barely five percent of total property inventory commercial, Dargon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (Reardon has stated in multiple presentations that commercial property must at a minimum be at 30 percent to make a difference for residential rate payers) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties.

When asked by resident and Town Meeting Member (Pct. 3) Joseph Bernard asked if there was empirical evidence that municipalities which set a higher commercial tax rate reduced development or commercial activity, Dargon discussed his own experience as chief assessor for Framingham saying he witnessed the suppression of commercial activity as the then town had a high rate for business properties.

“In most lease agreements, taxes are passed on to the tenants. In the case where I was, they would often go to Natick which has a single rate,” he said.

As for residential exemptions, the administrative costs to run such a program would be prohibitive for a revenue neutral imitative. And as with the split rate, the majority of taxpayers would see little in reductions or increases in their tax bill, according to Dargon.

Because many homes in Belmont fall around the average price, a 10 percent exemption “doesn’t really benefit many people,” Dargon said. Adam Dash, the Select Board chair, noted that residential exemptions are popular in more densely populated urban municipalities such as Boston, Somerville and Cambridge with a very high percentage of absentee landlords.

Belmont’s FY’22 Property Tax Rate Jumps To $11.55 per $1,000 Driven By New School Borrowing

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Photo: The second $100 million borrowing for the new Middle and High School has driven the property tax rate higher.

Belmont taxpayers will see their property tax rate increase by four bits and a nickel as the Board of Assessors recommended a rate for fiscal year 2022 during its annual presentation before the Select Board on Thursday morning, Dec. 10.

“This [coming fiscal] year the tax rate will be going up 55 cents … from $11 to $11.55,” Reardon told the board. According to the assessors, the impact on a residential property valued at $1,285,000 – what the average single family house in Belmont is worth – will be $706. The annual tax bill for that average house comes out to $14,842.

While property values calculated by the assessors cooled off from the past years of double digit increases – this year single families are up 3 percent (as opposed to 18 percent last year), condos 5 percent, two and three families increased by 4 percent and commercial property was flat – the biggest impact on property taxes is the second phase of borrowing for the Middle and High School project. The new $100 million borrowing added 56 cents to the tax bill, said Reardon.

As in past years, the assessors recommended and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. Reardon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (at must be least a minimum of 30 percent, said Reardon) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is approximately four percent of the total real estate inventory.

As for exemptions, the administrative costs to run such a program would be prohibitive for a revenue neutral imitative. And as with the split rate, the majority of taxpayers would see little in reductions or increases in their tax bill.

The Board of Assessors will officially set the fiscal year ‘22 property tax rate on Friday, Dec. 11.

Letter To The Editor: Claims Belmont Overtax Property Below $1 Million ‘Untrue And Misleading’ – Assessors

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Photo: The Assessors before the Select Board (from left) Martin Millane, Robert Reardon and Charles Laverty III

Dear Editor:

The Town of Belmont Board of Assessors has recently received information being circulated by a group calling themselves the “Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont” in which it is claimed that the Fiscal Year 2020 Assessments overtax properties under $1,000,000 in assessed value and under tax higher-end properties. The information used to make these claims is untrue and misleading and does not adhere to the actual assessment process which is regulated, reviewed, audited, and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on an annual basis. The Board of Assessors has a long and exemplary record of fairly and equitably administering the Massachusetts General Laws to all taxpayers of Belmont.

Current assessments are historical which is a requirement of Massachusetts General Laws.  The Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) assessments are based on an effective date of 01/01/2019 based on sales information that occurred during the calendar year 2018. The effective date of assessment is based on the information on file in the assessing office based on inspections and reviews of every property in town.  Therefore, the fiscal year 2020 assessed values are as of Jan. 1, 2019, and are do not reflect the value of a property today.   

The report being circulated uses sales that have occurred in Calendar Years 2019 and 2020 compared against assessments that were based on 2018 sales.  The activity in these years is the basis for the upcoming assessments in the Fiscal Year 2021 (effective this upcoming January) and Fiscal Year 2022. Additionally, the sales in the report show no adjustment for changes in the Belmont Market and there are no adjustments for changes made to the properties after Jan. 1, 2019 (permits and renovations).  

The following table is from one of the many reports required and reviewed by the Department of Revenue to obtain certification.  


Fiscal Year 2020 Sales Ratios

Sale RangeSales RatioCODNumber
Q1$674,000 to $975,0000.951.8935 Sales
Q2$980,000 to $1,202,0000.951.4835 Sales
Q3 $1,206,000 to $1,512,5000.951.2735 Sales
Q4$1,515,000 to $5,500,0000.951.2434 Sales

The sales are segmented into four quartiles by sales price. The next column, sales ratio, is the assessed value divided by the sales price, which results in the assessment level. The Commonwealth requires that assessments are within 90 percent to 110 percent of sales. All four quartiles are at 95 percent which infers that than assessments are at 95 percent of market value in Fiscal Year 2020. The COD column is a further statistical test known as Coefficient of Dispersion which weighs, in short, the quality of the data set.  The Commonwealth requires that this be less the 10. The Belmont assessments are under 2.  The last column is the number of sales analyzed in each quartile. 

It is important to note that the Department of Revenue sets all guidelines and regulations for assessing in the Commonwealth. All communities are required to adhere to the same rules and procedures and Assessors are under oath to uphold these practices.    

A full version of the report above, as well as other reports used in the Certification Process, are available on the Belmont Board of Assessors’ website.

The Belmont Board of Assessors

Robert Reardon; chair, Charles Laverty III; vice-chair, Martin Millane; secretary.

Next Year’s Property Tax Rate Falls But Bill Continue Skyward As ‘Average’ Belmont Home Nears $1.1 Million

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Photo: An “average” Belmont home that recently sold for $1.1 million (and it’s a ranch!)

Belmont Board of Selectmen Chair Adam Dash said that next fiscal year’s property tax rate approved by the board Thursday morning, Dec. 13 isn’t that onerous compared to charges imposed in other Massachusetts city and towns.

“It’s our housing values that are high,” said Dash, focusing on the annual dichotomy of where lower tax rates result in raising taxes for Belmont’s property owners after the Belmont Board of Assessors presented its analysis of Belmont real estate valuation during its annual tax classification hearing before the Selectmen.

Robert Reardon, long-time chair of the Board of Assessors, announced that Belmont’s fiscal ’19 property tax rate – which begins on July 1, 2019 – will be set at $11.67 per $1,000 assessed value, a reduction of nearly half-a-buck from the fiscal ’18 rate of $12.15.

But the average quarterly bill isn’t shrinking with the new tax rate as the total assessed value of property in Belmont shot up to $7.947 billion from $7.497 billion in fiscal ’18 as home buyers continue to clamor into the “Town of Homes.” 

The healthy increase in Belmont property values also pushed up the average residential home value to $1,090,000, a jump of a little more than 8 percent or $86,000 in 12 months. “Incredible,” said Selectman and lifelong Belmont resident Mark Paolillo upon hearing what the new “average” has become.

With home prices increasing at a steady clip, the annual tax bill in fiscal ’19 on an average assessed valued property ($1,090,000 x $11.67) will be $12,720.30, an increase of $525 from the $12,195.56  in fiscal ’18.

And the town is squeezing every last drop of taxes from the levy; by taking in $89.25 million, it is leaving only $4,003.08 of excess capacity “on the table,” said Reardon. 

When Selectman Tom Caputo asked how the new 7-12 school building on the site of Belmont High School will impact tax assessments, Town Treasurer Floyd Carman said the nearly $215 million debt exclusion will be phased in over three years beginning in fiscal 2020. The town is expected to borrow between $85 to $90 million in long-term borrowing in the first two years with taxes on an average home increasing by $680 each year. The final year will be short-term bonds in the $25 million to $30 million range.

“Think $1,800 plus” total increase on the average property in taxes by the start of fiscal 2022, “assuming we keep our [triple A] bond rating,” said Carman.

As in past years, the assessors’ recommended, and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification and no real estate exemptions. Reardon – who is director of Cambridge’s Assessing Department – said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space (at must be least a minimum of 20 percent, said Reardon) to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is 3.9 percent of the total real estate.

“Every year, the layperson ask us why we don’t increase the commercial rate, and the reason is that is such a small, small impact,” said Reardon. If Belmont increased commercial rates to the maximum limit under the law, those tax bills would jump on average by $6,350 while residential taxes would fall to $381, placing an unfair burden on commercial owners and their renters “and make Belmont a less desirable town.” 

“People always assume there’s more money if you go with the split rate when it really is just shifting the cost to the commercial side,” Reardon said.

Million Dollar Belmont: Average Assessment Hits 7 Figures As Tax Bill Jumps 4 Percent in ’18

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Photo: Daniel Dargon, Robert Reardon and Charles Laverty III

There was a time in Belmont when the statement: “Your house looks like a million!” was metaphoric and not literal.

Not anymore, as the average assessed property in the “Town of Homes” had broken the seven-figure barrier, according to Board of Assessors when it announced the numbers during the annual tax classification hearing before the Belmont Board of Selectmen on Monday, Dec. 11.

The new “average” assessed value is $1,003,750, an increase from $942,000, according to Robert Reardon, long-time chair of the Board of Assessors, who announced that Belmont’s fiscal ’18 tax rate is set at $12.15 per $1,000 assessed value, a decrease of 4.25 percent from the fiscal ’17 rate of $12.69 per $1,000.

But don’t expect your quarterly bill to shrink in the coming year as the assessed value of property in Belmont shot up a healthy seven percent to $7.3 billion from $6.7 billion in fiscal ’17. With property values increasing at its highest percentage in more than five years, the average property owner will see their tax bill increase by 3.5 percent. 

For example, the annual tax bill on the average assessed valued property ($1,003,750 x $12.15) will be $12,195.56 in fiscal ’18; an increase of $241.58 from last year’s bill of $11,953.98.

Under the new rate, Belmont will collect $86.1 million from residential, commercial, open land and personal properties. Last fiscal year, the town raised $82 million in real estate taxes.

Reardon noted a “big” increase in new property growth totaling $2,020,408, compared to the $788,000 in fiscal ’17. On top of the existing Belmont tax base of $567,550, the Uplands development on the Cambridge border that selling units at a better than expected rate and new construction on the site is underway providing the town $600,750, nearly $200,000 more than anticipated. The completion of the electrical substation and its sale to Eversourse (the former NSTAR) brought in $852,108 in one-time funds to new growth. 

As with past years, the assessors’ recommended, and the selectmen agreed to a single tax classification for all properties and no real estate exemptions.

Reardon said Belmont does not have anywhere near the amount of commercial and industrial space – at a minimum 20 percent – to creating separate tax rates for residential and commercial properties. Belmont’s commercial base is 4.1 percent of the total real estate.

“People always assumes there’s money if you go with the split rate and that’s not true,” Reardon told the Belmontonian.