NEW HAVEN — The New Haven selectboard on July 10 approved a 22 percent decrease in the municipal tax rate, but because the education property tax rate — a much bigger component of the overall property tax bill — went up, New Haven homeowners will see only a modest decrease in their taxes.
The municipal tax rate was set at 29.02 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The town’s residential education rate for fiscal year 2019 increased by less than 1 percent to $1.5943, and the nonresidential education rate increased by 4 percent to $1.6339.
The New Haven common level of appraisal (CLA), as reported by the Vermont Department of Taxes, decreased by 1.19 points to 96.7 percent.
Although the New Haven municipal rate decreased substantially, taxpayers will see a much smaller decrease in their bills because of the change to the CLA and because the education tax makes up a larger proportion of the overall rate. The total property tax rate for New Haven residents is $1.8845, a 3 percent decrease from last year. The nonresidential overall rate is down less than a percent to $1.9241.
New Haven residents paying on the full value of their property will see a reduction of $65 per $100,000 of assessed value of their homes. Residents who pay based on their incomes are likely to receive prebates for a portion of their school tax bills. About two-thirds of county residents receive prebates.
New Haven tax bills were mailed on July 17, and taxes are due Oct. 1.