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Residents press board on tax-exempt properties and pilot payments; board pledges more data
Summary
Residents pressed the Select Board about the scale of tax-exempt property holdings (notably Plymouth State) and whether pilot payments and in-kind contributions offset lost tax revenue; staff provided assessed-value figures and agreed to return with additional data requested by residents.
Several residents used the budget hearing to press the Select Board for more precise data on tax-exempt properties in Plymouth — particularly holdings associated with Plymouth State University and other nonprofit organizations — and to ask how pilot payments and in-kind services factor into the town’s fiscal picture.
Town staff presented audit figures and line-item amounts for tax-exempt parcels and noted a decline in the assessed value of some exempt buildings between 2018 and 2025. Staff cited specific pilot agreements and revenues: Spear Memorial Hospital ($50,000/year), Mid State Health ($10,000/year), a housing development on Fairgrounds Road ($17,000/year) and a life-safety services agreement from Plymouth State that the staff said yields roughly $175,000 per year under current arrangements. A staff estimate presented in the hearing placed nonprofit-assessed value (exclusive of public/government holdings) near $62,000,000 under the town’s accounting method; staff cautioned that figures do not automatically include institutional or governmental parcels.
Residents requested systematic data across years (2018–2025) on the number of taxable lots and the assessed-values of tax-exempt parcels; the board and staff agreed to ask the assessor’s office for additional detail and follow up with a data summary. The board also explained that pilot programs and in-kind services (parking, student volunteers, use of campus parking for events) have economic value that staff can attempt to quantify, but that those in-kind values require additional analysis.
The Select Board did not adopt policy changes at the hearing; instead, it directed staff to return with more granular data for public review ahead of the town meeting and future budget work sessions.
