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Deputy assessor reports overlay balances rose as veteran and senior exemptions increased
Summary
Templeton’s deputy assessor reported the overlay account balance at $742,897.15, noted higher exemptions for disabled veterans and seniors driving increased overlay usage, and explained the town did not certify excess overlay for FY25.
The Select Board heard the fourth-quarter assessor’s report on July 23, which described tax-field activity, abatements, and overlay account movements as the town completed fiscal-year work and prepared for FY26 tax-rate setting.
Justice Graves, deputy assessor, told the Select Board the overlay account balance currently stands at $742,897.15 and that the board of assessors recommended adding between $130,000 and $145,000 to the overlay on the tax-rate recap subject to final adjustment during tax-rate setting. Graves said the increase in overlay use this year was driven largely by exemptions and abatements, particularly for disabled veterans and senior exemptions that were filed after the revaluation.
Graves listed other items: supplemental real-estate collections of about $1,271.53 during the quarter, a motor-vehicle commitment for roughly $110,000, motor-vehicle excise abatements of just over $16,000 in the quarter, and community-preservation receipts of about $16,000 for the town. The assessor’s office also reported steady building-permit activity, mostly alterations and accessory dwelling units rather than new-home construction.
The deputy assessor noted that the town did not certify any excess overlay for FY25 after review of the collector’s and accountant’s ledgers. Last year, the board certified an $85,000 excess overlay; this year the assessors recommended keeping the overlay to protect the tax rate given increased exemptions.
A board member asked about the senior work-off program, and Graves explained the town set the senior-work abatement at $500 for up to 20 residents (a $10,000 allocation), and that any change to that funding level requires Town Meeting action because the program is an abatement mechanism that must be included in the tax recap.
Ending: The Select Board received the report and asked staff to continue working with the assessors and the town accountant in advance of tax-rate setting; no formal board vote was required for the quarterly update.
