Selectmen set estimated tax rate

Nov 17, 2020

The Board of Selectmen voted on Nov. 17 to set a single tax rate for residential, commercial and industrial properties in town.

The property tax rate has been set at an estimated $11.16 per $1,000 of assessed value. Last year, the rate was $10.98.

“We are still one of the lowest overall single-family tax bills in the state,” said Jacqui Nichols, the town’s director of assessment.

Nichols noted that the average assessed value of single family homes in Wareham has increased: Last year, the average home was assessed at $293,000. This year, that value has increased to $305,000.

There has been some growth in the assessed values of commercial and industrial properties, but not to the same extent as residential properties.

The increased tax rate also includes the debt exclusion for the new elementary school being built on Minot Avenue.

The selectmen agreed that now was not the time to differentiate the rate between residential and commercial properties because many businesses have been struggling during the pandemic.

The average tax bill for a single family home in Massachusetts in fiscal year 2020 was $6,177. That year, in Wareham, the average bill was $3,200. Selectmen Peter Teitelbaum said that even with the addition of fire district taxes (on average $900 or $1,100, depending on the district), Wareham residents pay about a third less than the average state resident.