Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas announced that the city will see it’s tax rate decrease from the current $23.50 per thousand to $23.44. The budget passed by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in June projected the tax rate would rise to $23.81.
In the statement released announcing the news Gatsas crowed:
“I am pleased that city residents will realize a decrease in their property tax bills this year. This comes as a direct result of a significant increase in the net assessed property valuation within the city predominantly in commercial building and utilities. This is further proof that economic development is vibrant in the city and we continue to a foster a climate for business to grow and thrive.”
The new tax rate will be reflected in the first tax bill for FY 2016, which are expected be mailed during the first week of December. The new rate is .26% lower than the current tax rate and about 1.5% lower than the one projected in June.
In addition to an almost $140 million increase in the city’s property tax base, the city unexpectedly received almost $1.15 million more in state education aid and saw an additional $230,000 in surplus at year’s end. Against those improvements, were a shortfall of $575,000 in projected school district revenues, a $195,000 shortfall in projected city revenues and a sharp increase in the County Tax of more than $620,000. The latter items were offset by the former, leading to an overall decrease in the tax rate.
A breakdown of the tax rate, including how it was impacted by each item, is provided in attached correspondence from William Sanders, Finance Director for the City of Manchester to the Board of Mayor an Aldermen.
If the state funding is considered Title I funding, then the city should not be using that to lower city taxes. That money from the state only goes toward funding certain schools within our city.
The additional funds were from an increase in the State Adequacy Grant, not from Title I or any other federal funds. As such, it is included in the tax rate calculation and cannot be spent because the city has already adopted the budget.