It’s budget season again

As we work to reconcile this year’s budget in light of several issues, we nonetheless have to prepare for next year’s budget. According to the town charter, I must submit my proposed budget to the Board of Selectmen no later than March 15. Prior to that, however, I expect to offer a draft budget to the selectmen and the community on Feb. 28. By seeking comment on a preliminary draft, I will be able to address issues raised in the two remaining weeks before the formal budget is submitted.Let’s get busy with some numbers. It is apparent that plenty of numbers are being bandied about, most of which I have no idea of their basis. I hope that this information offers better insight into the budget.A significant factor for next year’s budget is the completion of the revaluation, which adjusted the taxable value of properties in town. Nearly all assessments decreased, but many did increase. The town’s net grand list (the value of all properties) decreased from $818,214,774 to $689,132,050, a drop of nearly 16 percent.The cost of town operations, however, did not correspondingly decrease. This means that the town revenues will need to closely match the tax revenues generated for this year. With the drop in the grand list value, this can only be accomplished by raising the mill rate.With this year’s mill rate of 25.43 mills, property tax collections would result in $20,807,201 ($818,214,774 x .02543). With the revalued grand list to generate similar revenues, it is necessary to levy a mill rate of 30.20: $689,132,050 x .03020 equals $20,811,787. What is interesting to note is that despite the increase in the tax rate, most residents’ real property taxes decrease!For example, I looked at seven “random” residents (ironically, they happen to sit on the Board of Selectmen). Of the seven, six would see a decrease in their real property taxes, ranging from $383 to $119 (average: $249). The one increase would be for $363. Upon reviewing a list of all properties in town, this ratio of 6:1 is relatively consistent.Yes, under typical circumstances, a nearly five mill increase would result in a substantial tax increase for property owners. With the revaluation, though, the impact is entirely different. For a closer examination of how such a change in the mill rate would affect your property taxes, you can do a little research yourself (greatly increasing the accuracy of your information rather than getting information through the “grapevine”).Using the Internet, I encourage you to visit this website: data.visionappraisal.com/winchesterct/default.asp. This website enables access to the assessor’s online data base for Winchester. You can then search for any property in town, most easily by address or owner name. The data base will then indicate the current appraised and assessed values for the subject property. The town’s mill rate is applied to the property’s ASSESSED value, not the appraised value.Multiply the property’s assessed value by the aforementioned mill rate of .03020 to determine what the property taxes would be if such a mill rate were to be levied. You can compare that number to the taxes for which the property was responsible for this year (using a copy of your current tax bill).I will be preparing a map to illustrate the average impact on taxes for various areas around town. This map will be made available at Town Hall. I will also create a document to post on the town’s website that illustrates the impact on every property in town. This will be invaluable information to you as you examine the budget put forward to you by the Board of Selectmen.The theoretical mill rate of 30.20 is approximated to generate the same level of revenue as we are currently generating through property taxes. In other words, maintaining the status quo. If we want to consider additional projects such as infrastructure or equipment, as some have indicated, it will be necessary to increase the mill rate beyond the 30.20. I would not expect a significant rise above that theoretical level. Although we have many issues to address regarding our financial situation, those issues will not be remedied within one year: It will be a slow and steady process to regain our footing.Please use this information to learn more about local government financing. If you have questions, call or visit me. I look forward to working with you.Dale Martin is the town manager of Winchester.