Homestead properties see an 11 cent decrease, while non-homestead properties nearly flat
By Stephen Seitz and Jim Haff
KILLINGTON — Estimated taxes have been set for the 2016/2017 fiscal year.
Acting Town Manager Dick Horner said the municipal tax rate has been set at $0.3198. Last year’s rate for an 18-month budget cycle was $0.4633 or $0.3088 for 12 months.
This represents a 4.5 percent increase in municipal tax rate for the town of Killington, or just over 1 cent per hundred of property value ($0.011.)
The municipal tax rate from 2014 to 2015 saw a 5 percent, or 1.28 cents, increase. Now, the 2016/17 12-month budget of $0.3198 would be a $0.011 increase or 4.5 percent from the previous 12-month period (numbers are extrapolated from the 18-month budget for comparative purposes.)
Horner said, “We may have to adjust these later. After all, we have to be able to pay the bills.”
Town Clerk and Treasurer Lucrecia Wonsor said the state education rate would be $1.584, while the non-residential rate would be $1.4881.
“It’s a net decrease,” she said. “The homestead education rate is down by about 15 cents, and the non-residential [education] rate is down closer to three cents.”
Tax rates are estimated because the Legislature has to vote on the statewide rates, and the Grand List won’t be finalized until June 30.
If these numbers hold up, the combined (municipal plus education) tax rate for a homestead for 2016/17 is estimated to be at $1.9038. In 2015 the combined actual homestead tax rate was $2.0138, all of the decrease coming from the education side, representing a decrease of $0.11. The estimated combined tax for 2016/17 translates into $3,940 total tax on a $200,000 homestead property prior to rebates a homeowner might qualify for based on income.
The majority of the properties in Killington, however, are non-homestead properties (second homes and businesses). Those combined tax rates are estimated to be $1.8078. Comparing it to 2015, when it was $1.8139, this represents a $0.0061 decrease — just over one half of one cent. For the same $200,000 property, a non-homestead property would pay $3,542.80 in taxes.
While most towns have already moved their financing from the calendar year to the fiscal year, Killington didn’t make that move until last year, and has created an 18-month tax cycle to cover the transition period. Horner said the transition will be complete on June 30. Then Killington’s tax year will run July 1 to June 30.
