Town Working on Tax Calculator for Budget Season
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Board of Finance (BOF) meetings can get a little repetitive. Frequent updates about the state of the current year budgets are important, but don’t exactly have people on the edge of their seats. Frankly, I thought the Thursday, March 26, 2026 meeting might be another one of those, but then BOF Chair Steve Geryk announced a new tool that the town is working on to keep people informed this budget season.
According to Geryk, the Town is working on a calculator to help people compare last year’s taxes to what they would be under a proposed new budget. It will be housed on the Town's website. Geryk advised that people “check all of your taxes.” He said that the taxes on people’s homes may go up but that their car taxes “will certainly drop” because of the new way that the state calculates value.
Before the calculator can be fully operational, the Town needs a finalized Grand List and a finalized budget proposal. The BOF said it has a preliminary version of the Grand List, but did not reveal the number during the meeting. This should be finalized by the April 7, 2026, Public Budget Hearing where the Town and the BOE will present budget requests, and a mill rate can be proposed based on the new Grand List and the budgets. At that point, the BOF can suggest changes to the budgets and/or vote on whether to send the proposed budget to referendum.
Once a proposed budget is approved by the BOF, and the Grand List is set, the new calculator should be able to tell you how your property taxes will be impacted. This will give people more information as they head to the polls to vote.
