HAMPDEN – Hampden residents can expect to see a dip in their tax rate for fiscal year 2019 (FY19).

At its Dec. 3 meeting, the Board of Selectmen voted to adopt a single rate for all properties – residential, commercial, and industrial. According to Town Administrator Mary McNally, the rate was set at $19.69 per $1,000 valuation, a 31-cent drop from last year’s rate of $20.

It marks the second reduction in the tax rate since FY10. In FY17, the tax rate dropped 10 cents from $19.36 in FY16 to $19.26 in FY17, only to jump 71 cents in FY18. The tax rate also slid from $15.84 in 2010 to $15.64 in FY11, but then rose more than $1 to $16.87 in FY12. From FY12 to FY16, the tax rate steadily increased from $16.87 to $19.96.

A flat tax rate maintains the town’s tax practices from prior fiscal years. McNally said the Board of Assessors again recommended the single tax rate and there was no substantive discussion regarding a split rate.

“The single tax rate was recommended because there are so few properties in other classifications that it’s not worth it to offer an open space discount for example because there aren’t really any open space properties classified,” McNally explained.

As part of public disclosure portion of the state’s certification process, the Assessor’s Office prepared a list of proposed real estate and business personal property assessments. That list was available for review by residents at the Assessor’s Office and the Senior Center the week prior to the Dec. 3 tax classification hearing in order to allow residents to raise questions and concerns regarding their proposed assessment.