Assessor Bill Barkin testifies at Monday's tax classification hearing.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set a tax rate for fiscal 2019 that is $18.58 per $1,000 of property value. That is up just 8 cents from last year and represents an 11-cent increase on the town side and a 3-cent decrease in the Fire District portion.
The board met jointly on Monday with the Prudential Committee, which oversees the Fire District, to hold its annual tax classification hearing. As has been the town's practice, both bodies agreed to continue with a unified tax rate instead of shifting more of the burden onto commercial properties.
Assessor William Barkin told the bodies that was the unanimous recommendation of the Board of Assessors and a practice that he long has advocated, again summarizing his reasoning on Monday: the town has so few commercial properties that any attempt to shift the rate onto them would be unproductive and only serve to punish non-residents.
Barkin also reported that the town's FY19 tax rate at $18.58 per $1,000 was the number he submitted to the Department of Revenue.
The average single-family home is valued at $358,261, according to the state Department of Revenue, meaning a tax bill of $6,657 for fiscal 2019.
The fiscal 2018 rate was $17.94 for per $1,000 value for property taxes and another 56 cents per $1,000 for the Fire District.
The Fire District, Prudential Committee member Ed Briggs said, anticipates a slightly lower cost this year for maintaining its trucks after a tough year for the district's "maintenance and operation" budget. Hoch also pointed out that as the district is responsible for street lights, electricity is a large percentage of its budget, and that budget therefore has seen significant benefits from the town's solar power installation on the capped landfill near the Transfer Station.
The Select Board also on Monday on a 4-1 vote approved extending an intermunicipal agreement with the town of Lanesborough to share the services of Andrew Groff, Williamstown's community development director.
The agreement allows the community development director "to attend meetings in Lanesborough, to prepare materials for said meetings and to provide any post-meeting legal documentation," at the request of Lanesborough's town administrator.
Hoch noted that encouraging development in Lanesborough ultimately serves Williamstown taxpayers since the two towns are part of a regional school district.
Select Board member Jeffrey Thomas, who in the past has raised concerns about overextending town personnel through such agreements, voted against the extension.
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Williamstown Charter Review Panel OKs Fix to Address 'Separation of Powers' Concern
By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter.
The committee accepted language designed to meet concerns raised by the Planning Board about separation of powers under the charter.
The committee's original compliance language — Article 32 on the annual town meeting warrant — would have made the Select Board responsible for determining a remedy if any other town board or committee violated the charter.
The Planning Board objected to that notion, pointing out that it would give one elected body in town some authority over another.
On Wednesday, Charter Review Committee co-Chairs Andrew Hogeland and Jeffrey Johnson, both members of the Select Board, brought their colleagues amended language that, in essence, gives authority to enforce charter compliance by a board to its appointing authority.
For example, the Select Board would have authority to determine a remedy if, say, the Community Preservation Committee somehow violated the charter. And the voters, who elect the Planning Board, would have ultimate say if that body violates the charter.
In reality, the charter says very little about what town boards and committees — other than the Select Board — can or cannot do, and the powers of bodies like the Planning Board are regulated by state law.
The Charter Review Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to endorse an amended version of the compliance provision it drafted to be added to the Town Charter. click for more
Developer David Traggorth asked the trustees to make the contribution from its coffers to help unlock an additional $5.4 million in state funds for the planned 54-unit apartment building at the south end of the Cable Mills site.
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The donors, who wish to remain anonymous, say the gift reflects their desire to not only support Williams but also President Maud S. Mandel's strategic vision and plan for the college.
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Neighbors of a proposed subdivision off Summer Street last week asked the Planning Board to take a critical look at the project, which the residents say is out of scale to the neighborhood. click for more