Tax bills out but not due until Nov. 13

August 21, 2020  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

UPDATE: This story was updated with comments from Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk regarding school tax-relief for those taxpayers who qualify based on income.

Waterbury 2020 tax bills began landing in mailboxes this week but unlike most years, payments are due in just one installment not due until Nov. 13.

And taxpayers may notice that at least the municipal portion of their bill was calculated at the same rate as 2019 property taxes. 

The Waterbury Select Board at the recommendation of Municipal Manager Bill Shepeluk last month approved the unchanged tax rate in one installment for this year for several reasons. 

One payment made sense given that information needed to calculate property taxes was not available from the state in early July when it would have been needed in order to bill taxpayers for the typical first payment due in August, with the second payment due in November. 

Waiting for the entire amount to be due in November also gives taxpayers more time before they need to pay -- something many might appreciate this year given the financial rollercoaster they are on due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its rippling effects through the economy. 

Keeping the municipal rate unchanged from 2019 was a calculation Shelepuk said he thinks the town finances can weather.

“I think there are a lot of people out there who are hurting,” Shepeluk told the board. “If we could give them this break we are able to withstand a deficit a lot better than a lot of our taxpayers can.” 

On Town Meeting Day in March, Waterbury voters gave the Select Board the authority to set the tax rate up to 55 cents per $100 of assessed property value. Shepeluk said he’s pored over several scenarios to account for little to no increase and the resulting bottom line. 

Since the end of March, town government went into cost-saving mode with employees furloughed, offices closed to the public and some projects and purchases put on hold to keep spending in check. 

Looking at figures through Aug. 10 -- 60 percent through the fiscal year -- Shepeluk said keeping the tax rate at the 2019 rate of 51 cents per $100 of assessed property value would mean ending the year with a deficit of just under $43,000. 

That calculation also uses low estimates for some non-tax revenue the town receives such as state payments in lieu of taxes for the state office complex, state parks and forestland, and agricultural lands in the current use program.  

“I am hopeful that non-tax revenues from the state will be higher than the projections I am carrying, but I want to remain conservative,” Shepeluk said.

Town officials also will need to decide whether to put about $258,000 as they originally planned into the capital improvements. That would add to any deficit and would need to be addressed with tax revenue in 2021. 

Shepeluk recommended that they keep a close eye on how the financial picture plays out in the coming weeks to decide how much if any money to put into the capital budget this year. 

Board members generally agreed with the premise of not asking for a tax increase this year. “We owe it to the taxpayers to absorb a little and hold the line,” board member Nat Fish said. 

Mike Bard compared this year to the period after Tropical Storm Irene hit Waterbury in 2011 when many homeowners were beset with recovery costs and rebuilding their homes. “Now’s just not the time to have a tax increase,” he said. 

Board Chair Chris Viens worried out loud that they would regret the move should “another shoe drop” such as state revenue coming in under expectations. But when he asked if there was any support for setting a tax rate higher than 51 cents, there were no takers. 

The board ended up voting unanimously for keeping the tax rate at 51 cents per $100 of assessed property value. That would mean a tax bill of $1,275 on a home valued at $250,000. 

Tax bills also include a very small additional municipal charge that assists 31 local disabled military veterans with property taxes. 

The line labeled “Local Agreement Veterans” calculates .19 cents per $100 assessed value into the municipal tax. 

The Vermont Veterans Affairs office determines eligibility and qualified U.S. veterans see a reduction in their assessed property value of up to $40,000. The funds raised by this line on everyone’s tax bill including the participating veterans covers the cost of that discount, explained town billing clerk Karen Petrovic. This would translate to $4.75 on the tax bill for that hypothetical $250,000 home. 

School taxes up

As most taxpayers know, however, the municipal portion of their bill is a fraction of the total. School taxes account for more than three times the municipal portion. 

This year’s school tax rate for Waterbury is just under $1.74 per $100 assessed property value ($1.7368 to be exact). On a $250,000 home, school taxes would total $4,342. The school tax rate for Waterbury this year is up 5.48 cents per $100 of assessed property value. 

Shepeluk pointed out, however, that the state helps ease the school-tax burden by offering relief based on income to many taxpayers. This year approximately 60 percent of the 1,531 declared homesteads in Waterbury will receive a reduction in their education tax bill with the average discount per recipient being about $1,700.

The state pays the school district directly, reducing the amount the town needs to collect from taxpayers. This year the state will offset education taxes for Waterbury taxpayers by more than $1.6 million, he said.

Town offices currently are open only by appointment and town officials encourage individuals to do as much business online or by mail as possible to limit the number of people entering the offices. Tax payments may be made by mail or through an electronic bank funds transfer. 

New fee for document copies 

At its Aug. 10 meeting, the Select Board adopted a new policy to charge for both hard copies and digital versions of documents. 

Shepeluk noted that he expects the demand for copies to grow as the offices remain open by appointment only. State statute allows municipalities to charge up to $1 per page for documents, he noted. 

The town has generally charged professionals $1 per page for tax bills and lister cards requested in person and $2 per page for those mailed or emailed, he said. 

Shepeluk recommended -- and the board approved -- a new fee of 25 cents per page for physical and electronic copies of public documents as well as postage when appropriate. The new fee will apply to documents that did not already have an associated charge.