CHESHIRE, Mass. — The property tax bill for the average home will increase by $134 this fiscal year.
The Selectmen on Thursday set the fiscal 2018 tax rate at $13.06, which is 5.4 percent higher than last year. The single tax rate covers both residential and commercial property.
The Assessors joined the Selectmen at Thursday's tax classification hearing. Officials voted to set the single tax rate at $13.06 per $1,000 valuation, which is 67 cents higher than this year's $12.39.
The average property value for a single-family home in Cheshire is $200,000 making the average tax bill at the new rate $2,612.
Town Administrator Mark Webber previewed the hearing Tuesday and said because of increasing expenses and stagnant property values, residents will see a higher increase.
"Property values increased half of 1 percent and I think you did it the right way and it went up but the values haven't moved much in five years," Webber said. "It's the value versus the spending."
Webber said it would take another $200,000 from free cash to keep the tax rate level. Town meeting already voted to use $170,000 from free cash to offset the tax rate.
Selectman Robert Ciskowski said on Tuesday that he thought the closing of Cheshire School would not help matters.
"I wonder if the school closing will affect this," he said. "I am not going to say which way."
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Adams Sees No Races So Far
By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass. — With less than a week left before nomination papers are due, there are currently no contested seats.
Only selectman incumbent John Duval has returned papers. Selectman Howard Rosenberg has decided not to seek re-election.
Rosenberg, who was elected in 2021, said he has chosen not to run again to make room for younger candidates.
"I feel strongly, we need younger people running for public office, as the future of our town lies within the younger generation. The world is so fundamentally different today and rapidly changing to become even more so. I believe we need people who are less interested in trying to bring back the past, then in paving the way for a promising future. The younger generation can know that they can stay here and have a voice without having to leave for opportunities elsewhere," he said.
The only person to return papers so far is former member the board Donald Sommer. Sommer served as a selectman from 2007 to 2010 and before that was a member of the School Committee and the Redevelopment Authority. He ran unsuccessfully for selectman in 2019 and again in 2021 but dropped out of before the election.
Incumbent Moderator Myra Wilk and Town Clerk Haley Meczywor have returned papers for their respective positions.
Assessor Paula Wheeler has returned papers and incumbents James Loughman and Eugene Michalenko have returned papers for library trustees.
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