Williamstown Homeowners Facing 7 Percent Hike in Tax Rate

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Property owners will pay nearly a dollar more per $1,000 of assessed value in the current fiscal year under a tax classification proposal that goes to the Select Board on Monday evening.

 

According to a memo prepared by town Assessor Christopher Lamarre, the FY27 tax rate will be $15.16 per $1,000 of property value, an increase of 96 cents, or 6.8 percent, from the $14.20 per $1,000 property owners paid in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

 

The increase is because of a 9.12 percent hike in the levy based on the budget and fiscal articles approved for FY27 at May's annual town meeting.

 

In FY26, the town collected $21.9 million from property taxes; this year, it needs to collect $24.1 million to pay its bills, a rise of $2.2 million.

 

That is by far the largest hike in the last 10 years — the period covered by data readily available on the town's website. In FY26, levy grew by 5.8 percent, following an eight-year period where the largest jump was 5.52 percent in 2018.

 

At the same time, the town continued to see growth rate in the tax base that does not keep up with rising costs. In FY27, "new growth" is pegged at $18.2 million, yielding just $258,004 in new tax revenue — far below the $2.2 million in needed revenue.

 

The total of taxable property in town in FY27 is $1.6 billion.