The town's taxable valuation rose by roughly $138 million after new appraisals, and town staff told the Select Board on July 29, 2025, that the increase is driven largely by updated valuations for Pratt Whitney and Hussey.

Town Manager Crane Warren said the appraisal for Pratt rose from about $45 million to roughly $120 million and, after applying the town's ratio, that company's taxable value will be about $103 million. He said Hussey's valuation rose from roughly $7.5 million to about $17 million, producing a taxable value of about $16 million. "Pratt just finished a $20,000,000 project in air conditioning their building," Warren said, and the companies supplied the town with lists of improvements that increased their valuations.

The increase in those industrial appraisals, combined with a roughly 8% average increase in residential and commercial revaluation, brings the town's total valuation base to about $1.33 billion, Warren said. That figure includes about $45 million in new personal property reported by Pratt; town staff estimate the town will capture roughly 61.69% of that value for taxation.

Why it matters: Warren told the board that large valuation increases for a few taxpayers create risk of abatement claims that could require refunds; to guard the town against that possibility he said he will recommend using a near-maximum overlay. "There's always the chance that an abatement may be sought by those companies," Warren said, and the town should plan accordingly. He said preliminary tax-rate modeling indicates the town could settle near a $9.45 mill rate, and that the average residential tax bill would rise by about $100 under those projections.

Board members asked about company reaction and timing. Warren said the appraisal results were delivered to the companies yesterday and that staff will "rigorously defend" the valuations if abatements are filed. He also told the board he expected to present refined commitment tables and error reports at the next meeting on Aug. 19, 2025, and recommended increasing the overlay to cover potential abatements.

Supporting details: Warren said the town's last major industrial appraisals dated to 2005 and that Pratt and Hussey had made tens of millions of dollars in facility improvements in recent years. He noted the town has a TIF (tax increment financing) agreement with the mill across the street (referred to in the packet as "Caleb") and that state-paid homestead exemptions and other revenues were factored into the tax-rate calculations. Staff estimated the town needs to raise about $12 million in property taxes and that the board's minimum allowable rate is roughly 9.04 mills and the maximum about 9.50 mills under current modeling.

Next steps: Staff will finalize error reports and commitment sheets and provide multiple tax-rate scenarios for the board to consider at the Aug. 19 Select Board meeting. Warren said he would recommend a larger overlay to protect the town budget against potential abatement claims and that detailed tables will be circulated before the next meeting.

Ending: The Select Board did not set a final rate at the July 29 meeting; members were given preliminary figures and told staff will return with the formal commitment schedule and supporting tables on Aug. 19.