Tisbury tax hearing set for March 19

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Tisbury selectmen will approve the town’s tax rate and amount of excess levy capacity at a hearing on March 19. They will also discuss and vote on the town’s traditional residential exemption and tax shift. The hearing at town hall starts at 5:30 pm.

Tisbury’s Board of Assessors conducted a comprehensive reassessment of all classes of properties in the town in 2011, as state law requires every three years. Tisbury’s total FY12 preliminary assessed valuations are $2,569,103,710, compared to $2,558,966,837 in FY11.

Assistant assessor Ann Marie Cywinski said the FY12 valuations may change as the result of a public disclosure period that ran from March 5 to 12. Based on the preliminary figures, Ms. Cywinski said the potential residential tax rate would be $7.72 and commercial $9.67 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. The FY11 rates were $7.52 for residential and $9.48 for commercial.

Tisbury is the only Island town that taxes residents at varying rates. A tax shift percentage rate is applied against the town’s total tax levy. That shift, along with the residential exemption, is used to calculate individual tax bills for businesses and residents.

Under the formula used to calculate taxes, a percentage shift results in an additional percent of the town’s tax levy being billed to commercial and industrial real estate and personal property.

Tisbury selectmen have voted annually since 1988 to allow a residential exemption, traditionally at 20 percent, of the average residential value. It is deducted from property taxes for qualifying taxpayers domiciled in Tisbury. Nonresident taxpayers have to pick up the difference.

Last year the average residential value was $771,377, according to Ms. Cywinski. The 20-percent exemption resulted in an assessment credit of $154,275 and a savings of $1,195 in tax dollars.

Taxpayers may call the assessor’s office at 508-696-4206 for FY12 valuation information or view it online at visionappraisal.com.

Ms. Cywinski said that property owners who wish to dispute a valuation should file an application for overvaluation upon receipt of their actual tax bill. Tax bills are scheduled for mailing at the end of March, pending final certification and tax rate approval.

Overvaluation applications and residential exemption forms are available on Tisbury’s website at tisburyma.gov.