ADDISON COUNTY — As property tax bills arrive in the mailboxes of residents in the five towns of the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union (ANeSU), homeowners in Monkton and New Haven will see the overall tax rates fall compared to last year, while those in Lincoln, Starksboro and Bristol will see their overall tax rates rise.
Municipal tax rates increased in Bristol and Lincoln, and decreased in Monkton, New Haven and Starksboro. Education taxes increased in all towns except Bristol, where they decreased slightly.
Monkton’s overall tax decrease by about 2.5 cents per $100 of assessed value is due to a 2.8 cent fall in the municipal portion of the rate; its education tax rate rose less than one-third of one cent. New Haven also saw a decrease in its municipal tax rate offset a small increase in its school tax rate.
The Vermont Department of Taxes sets each town’s education tax rate based on what residents have approved for school spending, among other factors.
Looking at the raw numbers, the state set the highest educational rates for Monkton and the lowest educational rates for Lincoln. Correspondingly, Monkton has the five towns’ lowest common level of appraisal (CLA), at 85.63 percent (meaning the state tax department believes its property assessments to be undervalued). Lincoln has the five towns’ highest CLA, at 103.32 percent.
The highest municipal tax rate within the ANeSU towns is in Bristol, which has a municipal rate of $0.6682 per $100 in property value, with an additional $0.3018 for those within the police district. The lowest municipal tax rate is in New Haven, which has a municipal rate of $0.3750.
LINCOLN
The Lincoln selectboard early this month approved a fiscal year 2016 combined residential tax rate of $2.1784 per $100 in property value, a 2-cent increase from last year. The new rate translates into a property tax increase of $40 for the owners of a home valued at $200,000. The nonresidential combined tax rate increased by just under 1 cent to $2.1295.
The CLA for Lincoln inched up by around 1 percent to 103.32 percent, and education tax rates inched up slightly. The homestead education tax rate for Lincoln increased by about 1.5 cents to $1.5346. The  nonresidential education tax rate increased by mere fractions of a cent to 1.4857.
MONKTON
Combined tax rates have decreased for both residential and nonresidential property owners in Monkton for this year. The combined residential tax rate, as set by the selectboard last week, decreased by $0.0251 to $2.3771 per $100 of assessment, for a savings of around $50 on taxes for a $200,000 home. The combined nonresidential tax rate decreased by $0.0253 to $2.2633.
Education tax rates in Monkton went up slightly, about one-third of a cent, for both residents and nonresidents. The new education tax rate for residents is $1.9064 per $100 in property value. For nonresidents it’s $1.7926.
Given a CLA in the mid 80s, the Monkton selectboard has contracted with NEMRC (New England Municipal Resource Center) to reappraise properties within the town.
“We’ve been bumping along in the low 80s for quite a while, so it was time for reappraisal,” said Monkton selectboard Chair Stephen Pilcher.
NEMRC’s reappraisal should begin this week, Pilcher said, and should be completed by September 2016. Given this timeline, the selectboard expects the reappraised values to be reflected in property taxes for calendar year 2017.
NEW HAVEN
New Haven residents saw a slight decrease in their combined tax rate for calendar year 2015; nonresidents saw a slight increase. The new combined tax rate for homeowners decreased by about two-tenths of a cent to $1.9736. That represents a decrease in taxes of around $4 for a home valued at $200,000.
The new combined tax rate for nonresidents increased by three-tenths of a cent to $1.8960.
The education tax rate increased by about 1 cent to $1.5986 for residents and increased by about 1.5 cents for nonresidents. The CLA on New Haven property went up by just under four-tenths of a percentage point to 100.92 percent.
STARKSBORO
In Starksboro, the combined residential tax rate increased by about 6 cents and the combined nonresidential tax rate increased by about half a cent for fiscal year 2016. That means an owner of a $200,000 home will seen an increase of about $127 for residents. For Starksboro residents the fiscal year 2016 combined tax rate is $2.1750. For nonresidents it’s $2.0843.
The education tax rate increased by about 7 cents to $1.7192 for residents and by just under 1 cent to $1.6285 for nonresidents. The Starksboro CLA went up just under 1 percent to 94.26 percent.
BRISTOL
In an Aug. 13 story on Bristol tax rates for fiscal year 2016, the Independent noted that most Bristol homeowners will see their property taxes rise less than 1 percent. On Aug. 10, the Bristol selectboard approved a residential combined rate of $2.3471 per $100 in property value and a nonresidential combined rate of $2.3101.
Reporter Gaen Murphree is at [email protected].