Schools budget fuels Milton tax rate spike

Editor's note: A chart comparing the town's tax rates for town, school and water from 2005-2015 is below the story.

MILTON - Milton residents will wake up today with at least one thing not to be thankful for: a 7 percent jump in their property tax rate.

The new tax rate of $28.60 was revealed in a Tuesday press release from the town, which also revealed nearly $500,000 was drained from the town's fund balance or the tax would've spiked by more than 10 percent.

The use of the fund balance was approved by the state Department of Revenue Administration on Monday.

Selectmen voted 2-1 to reduce the town's mil rate by using the fund balance, which is maintained to provide available funds for catastrophic events or unfunded mandates.

The selectmen's individual votes were not disclosed in the press release.

The tax hike of $1.89 means that a resident owning property assessed at $200,000 will pay an extra $378 in annual property tax compared to last year.

The fund balance, which at optimal levels would have enough money to pay fixed costs incurred by the town for at least six months, is now roughly $1 million.

The school budget mil rate went up the most by far, from $12.98 last year to $14.93, increasing by some 15 percent.

The mil rate is the amount of property tax paid per thousand of assessed real estate.

The county portion mil rate went up 11 cents while the town portion actually went down, from $8.56 to $8.47, thanks to the fund balance transfer to reduce the tax rate.

The press release cites several reasons for the tax rate spike, including, a $682, 490 school budget and an increase in state education taxes.