Dalton and Fire District Set Tax Rates for FY25

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:08AM / Wednesday, December 04, 2024Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board voted to maintain a single tax rate, as it has done historically, during its meeting on Monday night.

This means all types of properties within the town, whether residential, commercial, or industrial, will be taxed at the same rate.

The town's tax rate for fiscal year 2025 is projected to be $16.47 per $1,000 property value, which is a decrease of 54 cents from last year's rate of $17.01.

The average tax bill for a single-family residence in Dalton would be about $5,561.06 for an average value of $337,648.

Residential properties continue to represent most of the total value in town, at approximately 86 percent, with commercial, industrial, and personal property only making up about 14 percent, Assessor's Clerk Lee Nunez said.

The town's excess levy capacity for FY25 is approximately $777,158, which is down from FY24's figure of $864,386.07. The town takes this figure into consideration when developing the budget.

The total assessed value of taxable properties in town for FY25 is $959,176,725, an increase of $63,853,860, or 7.13 percent over last year.

The Dalton Fire District's prudential committee also voted to maintain a single-payer tax rate, as it has done for many years, at its meeting on Tuesday.

The Fire District and town are two separate governing and taxing bodies. The Fire and Water departments are the Fire District's responsibility. The Board of Water Commissioners and the Prudential Committee govern the district.

The district's tax rate is set according to its yearly budget. During the Fire District's annual meeting, voters approved budget articles amounting to approximately $3,524,680 for fiscal year 2025.

A number of the budget hikes were caused by increases outside the district's control, specifically insurance, Water Commission Chair James Driscoll said during the annual meeting.

The district's tax rate for fiscal 2025 is projected to be $1.66 per $1,000 property value.

The average tax bill for a single-family residence in Dalton would be about $559.42 for an average value of $337,648.

Tags: fire district, fiscal 2025, property taxes, tax classification,

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Pittsfield Proposes 2.64 Tax Rate Hike

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
04:34PM / Tuesday, November 10, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The proposed tax rate for fiscal year 2027 is less than 40 cents per $1,000 valuation for residential properties and would increase the average property tax bill by about $146 per year.

On Tuesday's City Council meeting agenda is a request from the mayor and Board of Assessors to use a residential factor of .8245 at a shift of 1.75, resulting in a residential tax rate of $17.88 and a commercial, industrial, and personal property tax rate of $37.95.

These matters are typically referred to the Committee of the Whole for deliberation. The proposed rates for residential and commercial are 38 cents and $1.05 more, respectively, from FY26.

The average residential home, valued at $316,792 in FY27, has increased by about $1,500 from the previous fiscal year, and would pay $5,664.24 in yearly taxes.

This is a 2.64 percent, or $145.88, increase.

The average commercial property worth $239,600 saw a $100 increase in value from the previous fiscal year, and would pay $9,092.82 in yearly taxes. This is a $255.27, or 2.89 percent, increase from the previous fiscal year.

The FY27 tax levy of $124,468,317 is a $5.3 million increase from the previous year, or 4.45 percent. There is about $388,000 in excess levy capacity, $2.3 million in new growth, and the levy limit is $124,856,412.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, 11 single-family homes were added to Pittsfield's housing stock this fiscal year, increasing the city's total assessed value by $19,987,600 to $3,592,737,600.

The city lost five two-family homes in 2027, and that housing type decreased by $3.2 million in assessed value, now worth $384,620,400.

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