In a brief pre-Thanksgiving meeting on Tuesday, November 23, the Board of Selectmen voted to set the residential and commercial tax rates at $8.93 per $1,000 of property value, an increase of $.82 over the previous year.

The Board of Selectmen has the option each year to shift some of the tax burden off of residential taxpayers, and place it onto commercial taxpayers. The Selectmen decided not to do so this year, keeping the set rate the same for both residential and commercial taxpayers.

"In this economy, when there's so much competition ... I'm not sure that now is the best time to do" a shift, said Selectman Cara Winslow, explaining that shifting the tax rate could discourage businesses from moving to or staying in Wareham. "I'd like us to remain as attractive as possible [to businesses] to bring more revenue in."

The decision was a 4-0-0 unanimous vote. Selectman Steve Holmes was not present at the meeting.