Under the tax rate for 2021, Town Administrator Aaron Patt said the bill on a $200,000 house would come out to $5,360, down $70.
Greenfield’s tax rate of $26.80 per $1,000 assessed valuation is down from $27.15 last year, and as the town’s assessment has not gone up significantly, many properties will be assessed at the same value, leading to lower bills – at least, in the second round of billing, according to Patt.
“By statute, what you do for the first tax bill is you take one half of the previous year,” Patt said, as a down payment. Compared to the lower tax rate this year for Greenfield residents, this down payment is a little high, but the next bill in the spring will be slightly lower.
The drop is attributed to the school district returning money to towns, Patt said.
In June, the ConVal school board announced that about $3.2 million in unspent money from the previous budget, intended to be applied toward programs that were shelved due to COVID-19, would be returned to towns and taxpayers.
“It’s kind of a sunny day for Greenfield, that’s nice,” Patt said. “I think it’s pretty good for Greenfield.”