Property tax bills rising across state

Massachusetts property owners will again see substantial increases in their property tax bills this year, even as home sales have cooled.

The average tax bill for a single-family home will rise to $4,003 in 2007, 5.3 percent more than last year and up 49 percent from the 2000 tax bills, according to a Globe examination of 298 of the state's 351 cities and towns. Most of the new tax rates go into effect in bills that are going out this week .

Homeowners in Boston, Fall River, and Wayland will see double-digit percentage increases this year, while several communities near Boston will see average increases of 3.6 percent or less, including Brookline, Lincoln, Newton, Salem, and Somerville.

The state's highest average bill is in Weston, at $13,739, up 6.8 percent over 2006. The lowest is in Florida, a small town in the Berkshires, where the average tax bill will be $1,014, 2.5 percent more than in 2006.

Of the 298 cities and towns examined, the Globe found that 281 of them are increasing their average tax bills in 2007. The increase continues a trend of recent years, when property taxes rose by about 5 percent annually. The biggest recent increase was in 2002, when taxes rose by 6.7 percent.

"The problem is that it's so consistent," said Michael J. Widmer , president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "It's like college tuition. It's year upon year upon year upon year. Over a period of time, it really adds up."

The average tax bill on a single-family home in Boston will jump 12.3 percent to $3,093 in 2007. That's on top of a 9.6 percent jump between 2005 and 2006.

Many of the communities hit hardest are fast-growing suburbs, where expectations for quality schools are high and budgets are growing at a rapid clip. Some property owners in such areas say they are increasingly being squeezed.

"We're definitely a family stretched to the limits," said Sheri Norred , who lives in Hopkinton with her husband and 3-year-old son. "I kind of have it in my head that it's going to hit us every couple of years, and we're going to have to find ways to deal with it."

Norred, who said the tax bill on her $308,700 home is going up nearly $700 this year, said she has started shopping at Market Basket, a discount chain, instead of her regular grocery store, and now takes back roads to get to her Cambridge office to avoid paying tolls. "There are things that you have to do because of a strain on the taxes," she said.

Property tax specialists point to a variety of causes for the steady increases, including rising health care costs, which have soared in most cities and towns. The statewide increases are also due in part to many communities doing large-scale property reassessments. O f 351 communities, 136 completed their first comprehensive revaluation since 2003, which "is a huge number," according Lydia Hill , spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.

Communities set property values annually, but every third year the assessing departments use a more comprehensive process that typically includes physical inspections of some homes and takes into account physical improvements.

Tax bills are rising as home values in many areas are declining; this year's assessments reflect values as of Jan. 1, 2006, and were calculated based on 2005 activity, when the real estate market was much more active. Since then, sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts have fallen dramatically.

Governor-elect Deval Patrick made the state's tax situation a major campaign theme, saying he would find ways to help cities and towns reduce property taxes by providing more local aid and allowing communities to raise revenue through such means as local meals taxes.

"We've got to give cities and towns a more reliable source of income so that they can provide services to their residents," Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said last week. "The property tax is a regressive tax and [Patrick] feels that it is very important to help cities and towns stabilize that."

Cities and towns have become more reliant on property taxes. This year, property taxes accounted for 53 percent of local revenues, the highest level since 1982, according to a report released in November by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Local fees and charges also went up by 7.9 percent statewide in 2006, according to the report.

In some places, taxpayers have gotten used to the increases, expecting significant yearly increases in their property tax bills.

"A great number of people understand that this is just the situation," said Peter S. Barney, administrative assistant to the board of assessors in New Bedford, where tax bills increased 8.8 percent this year to $2,552. The town put out press releases and appeared on local radio stations to let people know about the increase, but Barney said he has not heard grumbling from residents.

"It's not outrageous if you look at what things have been like in past years, but taxpayers tend to have short memories," said Peter Caron , director of assessing in Lynn, where taxes are going up 8.4 percent, to $2,974. "It's all about what have you done for me lately, or, I guess, what are you doing to me lately?"

The Globe's analysis examined the tax bills for single-family homes, which make up the largest portion of property tax bills and are generally use d to gauge tax trends.

According to the Globe's examination, the state's largest percentage tax increase was a 26.9 percent hike in Everett, where the average homeowner's bill in 2007 will be $2,836.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.