ADAMS, Mass. — The Fire District's Prudential Committee accepted a new single tax rate that will be 96 cents per $1,000 valuation.

 

The rate accepted Wednesday morning at the tax classification hearing represents a five-cent increase over the last year's 91 cents. 

 

"The evaluations of everybody's house have gone up $19,000 to $20,000 so there will be a cost for district members," Prudential Committee Chairman Thomas Satko said. "Our budget only increased a little bit because of operating costs." 

 

However, the tax levy is what drives the rate. The levy for fiscal 2023 was $502,354, or $109,552 less than this year. The total assessed value last year was $552,559,800.

 

A town assessor was present at the short meeting to go over some numbers with the committee. The district has a total of $567,407,600 in assessed residential value, $38,896,800 in commercial value, and $28,648,800 in industrial value.

 

This totals $634,953,200.

 

Dividing the district's tax levy of $611,906 against this, the district calculated the 96-cent rate.

 

There was some discussion over the possibility of accepting a split rate, however, the town assessor noted it would not be as easy as simply voting on the number. To bill a split rate, the district would have to upgrade its billing system. This would come with a nearly $20,000 price tag.

 

"At this time, I don't think it's feasible, expense-wise," committee member Allen Mendel said.