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Select Board keeps single tax rate (residential factor of 1) after long hearing on valuations and distribution of tax burden
Summary
Following an extended presentation by Town Assessor Lee Kimani Bong and a prolonged board and public discussion about commercial valuations and fairness, the Select Board voted to continue a single tax rate (residential factor = 1) and oppose residential and small-commercial exemptions.
The Northborough Select Board voted Nov. 17 to continue a single tax rate for fiscal year 2026, adopting a residential factor of 1 and opposing a residential exemption and a small-commercial exemption as recommended by the Board of Assessors.
Town Assessor Lee Kimani Bong presented FY26 valuations, saying total town value rose roughly $207.5 million (about 4.6%) between calendar 2024 and the valuation date and that new-growth dollars added about $591,277 to allowable levy growth. Lee presented the mechanics by which the estimated levy ($70,029,500) and an estimated tax rate of $14.82 were calculated and explained the options available to the board: single tax rate or a split tax rate (shifting some percentage from residential to commercial/industrial/personal property).
A lengthy discussion followed. Select Board member Jacob Jones and others raised concerns that some commercial and industrial properties—particularly portfolio/warehouse sales on Bartlett Street—may be valued below recent market sales, producing an unequal outcome where residential taxpayers were bearing a proportionally greater share of the bill. Jones summarized an analysis of recent local commercial sales and asked the assessor for a detailed review; the assessor said some large sales are portfolio transactions or not arms-length and the valuation process and state certification use multi-year data and income approaches for commercial property.
After questions from board members and public commenters (including a statement from Karen Chapman representing the business community urging a single rate), the board closed the classification hearing and voted 5–0 in favor of a residential factor of 1 and to oppose the residential and small-commercial exemptions recommended by the Board of Assessors.
Chair Julianne Hirsch said the decision determines only the distribution of the tax levy among classes, not the levy total. The assessor agreed to provide additional commercial valuation data and said the assessor’s office will meet with board members who requested further analysis.
