Medway selectmen to adopt lower tax rate Property values in town increase by $5 million

MEDWAY – Medway taxpayers won’t have to dig so deep into their pockets to pay their new tax bills.

Officials last week agreed to a new tax rate and will formally adopt it during the selectmen’s meeting Monday. Because the town was late in determining the new tax rate, bills were mailed out last week.

The new tax rate is $20.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. It represents a decrease of $1.30 compared with last year’s rate of $21.80.

A resident with a home valued at $50,000 will pay $65 less, or $1,025 compared with last year’s bill of $1,090. Tax bills are due Dec. 31. Interest of 10.5 percent per annum will be charged on taxes paid after that date.

The new total value of the town is $55,427,706. It represents an increase of $5,073,188 or 10.07 percent compared with last year’s total value.

Administrative Assistant Kathy Lee said the primary reason for the increase in the town’s total value was a revaluation of all personal property, which increased by more than $3 million.

Lee said this year’s revaluation of personal property was the first one ever prepared by a professional firm for the town. She said the law requires town’s to assess everyone equally.

The new tax rate is based on total appropriations of $1,275,563.25, an increase of $191,892.75, or 17.07 percent compared with last year. That amount was reduced by $189,733 from various revenues. Appropriations include municipal and school budgets and the Penobscot County tax assessment.

The total amount raised from local taxes is $1,085,830.25, an increase of $2,159.75 compared with last year’s $1,083,670.50.

Municipal spending dropped by $43,369. School spending increased by $15,655. The county tax assessment increased by $3,606.75.