11 November, 2010
The Board of Selectmen voted to keep a single tax rate for all classes of property for Fiscal Year 2011 at the Tax Classification Hearing held on November 9, 2010. The tax rate for Fiscal Year 2011 was set at $16.73, up from $15.76 from the previous year.
The Board of Assessors announced that the Massachusetts Department of Revenue has approved Hopkinton’s property values for FY2011. According to the assessors, the total taxable value for the town is $2,726,881,399 of which 83.4 percent is residential and open space property and 16.6 percent is commercial, industrial and personal property. This split is about the same as it has been since FY2009.
Latest assessment figures were also presented. The valuation of the average home in Hopkinton is $472,457, down 3 percent from last year’s average of $487,768. Condominiums have also decreased in value, with the average assessed value dropping to $222,217 from $229,974. Commercial and industrial valuations decreased as well; commercial from $89,454,502 to $87,094,287 and industrial from $291,956,027 to $274,492,922. Open Space decreased to $ 179,300 for FY2011, down from $368,300 from last year.
With the tax rate set at $16.73 per thousand, the average household valued at $472,457, will pay $7,904 in taxes for FY2011 plus an additional $125 for the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge for a total tax of $8,029. This represents an increase of approximately 2.8 percent or $220.
When asked about how Hopkinton measures up against other towns, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, John Palmer, replied that based on the average single family tax, Hopkinton is ranked 26th in the state.
“We are in the upper echelon in our taxes,” said Palmer. “No surprises there.”
The top five tax payers in Hopkinton are as follows: 1) EMC Corporation at $2,352,445; 2) Hopkinton LNG at $518,502; 3) Verizon New England, Inc. at $460,470; 4) NSTAR Electric Company at $483,779 and 5) RREEF America at $408,473.
