LONGMEADOW – On Dec. 19 the Longmeadow Select Board met to determine the Town’s tax rate for fiscal year 2019 (FY19), which will be a single tax rate value for all classes of property.

The FY19 tax rate is $.25 lower than last year’s rate, coming in at $24.09. As stated by a press release provided by the town, the average tax bill for a single-family home will be roughly $272 more than last year. The increase will be reflected in the remaining two bills for the fiscal year, due on Feb. 1 and May 1.

At the Dec. 17 Select Board meeting the Board discussed both a single tax rate and a split rate. At the close of the discussion the Board of Assessors concluded that a single tax rate allowed for all property owners to pay their proportionate share of the tax levy based on the value of their property. Splitting the tax rate would not change the amount of property tax revenue that could be collected.

“Generally speaking I would look at [splitting the tax rate] if it’s a community that has maybe an 80 to 85 percent residential, that would maybe be the threshold, because then the shift provides a little more of what maybe the community is looking for. A little more benefit to the residential and not a significant impact to the commercial,” Board of Assessors member Carolyn Reed stated at the Dec. 17 meeting. Longmeadow is 94 percent residential property and 6 percent commercial property.

Ultimately, the town will move forward with a single tax rate value for this fiscal year.

Feb. 1 is also the deadline for filing abatement applications in Longmeadow if a property owner believes the property is over–valued due to incorrect information on the property record card or in comparison to other home assessments or sold properties. Should a resident have a question regarding the assessed value, they should reach out to the Assessors’ Office at 565-4115, however questions about payments are handled by the Collector’s Office at 567-1066. Town Hall offices are open Monday through Thursday at 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and 8:15 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Friday.

FY 19 assessments are available at www.longmeadow.org in the Assessors Database.