By Greg Ellison

(Feb. 17, 2022) The Berlin mayor and council examined real estate tax rate projections, following an uptick in the assessable base for residential and commercial property during an opening work session for the FY23 budget on Monday.

Finance Director Natalie Saleh said the data was presented for discussion purposes prior to setting tax rates during the months-long budget process.

“Our current budget amount to be received for FY22 is $3.8 million,” she said.

Saleh said figures were updated earlier that day after town officials received the state-calculated 2022 constant yield tax rate of 78.6 cents per $100 of assessable value.

The current  rate is 81.5 cents, which this year is levied on a on real property base of $481 million to produce $3.8 million in revenue.

Updated assessments for the tax year ahead put the base at $499.2 million, creating a constant yield tax rate at 78.6.

Using the updated tax base, Saleh calculated property tax revenues based on half-penny increments, with 82 cents netting an additional $312,000, 82.5 cents an added $336,000 and 83 cents increasing revenues by $360,000.

Council member Jay Knerr asked what the result would be of maintaining current property rates.

“If we do nothing, with the tax rate, people will pay an increase in their Berlin property tax of 3.8 percent?” he asked.

Finance Director Natalie Saleh

“It depends on the value of the home,” she said.

Saleh said real estate tax rates are reset on a three-year cycle, with residential figures updated this year and commercial rates now in year two of the sequence.

“The tax rate is the same for both,” she said.

Saleh said Berlin’s assessable base consisted of 83 percent residences and 17 percent commercial properties.

Mayor Zack Tyndall said after factoring in new construction, Berlin’s assessable real estate tax base is on the brink of topping $500 million by July.

“If you look at this constant yield tax rate certificate, it’s pretty evident that our assessable base has grown,” he said.