Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Taxation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Select Board sets FY26 tax split, adopts 1.30 shift to limit average residential increase
Summary
The Select Board voted unanimously to set the minimum residential factor to 0.9264 (a 1.30 shift), rejecting optional exemptions and aiming to keep the average single‑family increase under $500 amid strong residential value gains and waterfront assessment spikes.
The Foxborough Select Board voted on Nov. 4 to set the FY26 minimum residential factor at 0.9264 — a 1.30 shift — moving a larger share of the tax burden to commercial properties to blunt market‑driven residential increases.
Town staff explained the change during the tax classification hearing, noting single‑family residential values rose substantially this year (staff cited about a 9% average increase) and waterfront properties experienced larger gains around Neponset Reservoir and Ridge Road. The presentation also identified a roughly $11 million reduction in industrial value tied to the demolition at the Schneider property, which affected industrial category statistics.
Town Manager (speaking as the presenting official) said the 1.30 shift was selected to keep the average residential increase below $500: "To try to keep the increase under $500, we have to go to a 1.3." He walked the board through Department of Revenue tables, levy‑limit mechanics, and how lost large taxpayers are effectively redistributed across the tax base until redevelopment adds new growth back into the levy.
Board members asked whether seniors and longtime waterfront homeowners would be disproportionately affected; staff responded that towns must use fair cash value assessments and lack authority to pick and choose individual taxpayers for relief. The manager emphasized that redevelopment would return value to the levy as new growth but that short‑term impacts are driven by market sales.
After public comment and discussion, the board moved several procedural votes: it closed the public hearing; voted no on the open space discount, the residential exemption, and the small commercial exemption; and then approved the minimum residential factor at 0.9264. The motions were passed by voice vote with unanimous support.
What happens next: The tax classification decisions will be transmitted as part of the town’s FY26 tax rate certification process with the Department of Revenue. The board did not specify a roll‑call record of individual votes in the transcript, and the motions were announced and approved by unanimous voice votes at the meeting.
