To the Editor:
Vote “No” on the budget at the old St. Jude School building on May 6th. Continue to vote No until the tax rate is 26.7. Below is my logic for the above recommendation.
In my last letter, I indicated that your property tax could increase by 12 percent. I recommended calculating your increase by looking at the town assessor records. I hope you have done this.
Average property values are increasing by 50 percent. (Source Assessor and the Vision Group). Your taxes could go up by 12 percent.
Last year’s mill rate was 38.27, and this year’s proposed mill rate is 28.67, which is only a 25 percent decrease.
This is why your taxes could go up by 12 percent: The town budget has increased by roughly 3.9 percent. Let’s say the town gets a 5 percent increase in tax revenue. Then the mill rate should be around 26.7.
Please pass this on to your friends and neighbors.
Lud Johnson
Monroe Resident
In response to Mr. Johnson’s letter of April 29th, I would like to point out a flaw in his logic as he tries to explain why he thinks the Mill Rate should be 26.7.
Mr. Johnson is correct when he says that the “town budget has increased by roughly 3.9 percent”. In fact, the total town expenses increased by 3.92%. This value can be found in the proposed budget dated April 17, 2025, page 17, under “Financial Plan for the Fiscal Year”, in the lower right corner of the table.
He then states, “Let’s say the town gets a 5 percent increase in tax revenue”. The problem is that the town is not getting a 5 percent increase in tax revenue. The increase in tax revenue is only 4.13 percent. This value can be found in the proposed budget dated April 17, 2025, page 16, under “Financial Plan for the Fiscal Year”.
Also on page 16, the budget shows that non-tax revenue is declining by 14.66 percent. This means that as part of the overall budget, that lost revenue falls on the taxpayer to make up.
Lastly, the Mill Rate calculation considers that not everyone pays their taxes when they should. This means that the Mill Rate is marginally higher, than if everyone paid on time.
The bottom line is that the Mill Rate is a calculated value based on all the other elements of the budget and the need to raise a specific dollar amount through our property taxes to balance the budget. It is not set based on what someone might think is correct or sounds right.
I am a member of the Board of Finance, but the above thoughts are mine alone and I am not speaking for the Board.
Steve Kirsch
Hello Steve,
‘
Thank you for your clarification but it really did not state how much of a tax increase we should expect in July. I think it will be helpful for you to put out a clear statement to the town voters:
“on July 1, 2025 your taxes will increase by ___________%.