FERRISBURGH — Ferrisburgh homeowners will soon be opening tax bills that will include an 11.66-cent hike, or a little more than 6 percent.
The Ferrisburgh selectboard met on Tuesday last week to set the town’s 2019-2020 tax rate at 31.34 cents per $100 of assessed property vale, an increase of 1.82 cents, also about 6 percent.
The homestead school tax rate to support Addison Northwest School District schools was set by state officials at $1.6991, also a roughly 6 percent increase from this past year’s rate in Ferrisburgh. Declining ANWSD enrollment, higher fixed costs, and rising health insurance expenses are pressuring the district budget.
The new overall Ferrisburg homestead property tax rate is thus $2.0125, 11.66 cents higher than this past year’s rate.
That increase translates to almost $117 of higher taxes per $100,000 of assessed value.
Residents who pay based on their incomes are likely to receive prebates for a portion of their school tax bills, however. About two-thirds of county residents receive prebates, according to state data.
Homeowners with $47,000 or less of household income might also be eligible for an adjustment on their municipal property taxes, according to Vermont law, and should seek tax advice.
Looking at a three-year scan, Ferrisburgh homeowners are faring comparatively well even on the heels of a 4 percent overall increase a year ago.
In 2017 the new overall residential rate stood at $1.96 after a school-tax decrease of almost 14 cents following ANWSD unification. Therefore this year’s overall rate is just 5.25 cents higher than the town’s rate of three years ago, an increase of 2.7 percent over that time span.
Meanwhile, owners of Ferrisburgh commercial property and seasonal homes on Lake Champlain are looking at a smaller increase this year of 4.26 cents to $1.8722. That’s a change of about 2.3 percent.
That increase translates to an additional $42.60 of taxes per $100,000 of assessed value for owners of those properties.