Despite the override, Lancaster will be levying every penny it's allowed this year.

 

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At the Tax Hearing on Monday the Lancaster Select Board reviewed estimates that would levy $24,076,641 for FY2024 -- $340K more than the FY24 budget implied in May.  This is a substantial increase in the levy, and will bring Lancaster within $7K of it's new levy limit despite a $1.2 million levy limit override.

On Monday the Lancaster Select Board held the annual "Tax Hearing" to set how taxes will be apportioned for Fiscal Year 2024, which began in July and runs through next June.  They decided to tax Residential, Commercial and Industrially classed property and Personal Property at the same rates this year.

 Notable, however, were some revalations in the Board of Assessors report that they reviewed.  It's included in their meeting materials and includes some information about this years levy that I hadn't previously seen.  (Jump to page 17)

It says the levy this year will be $24,056,507.08.

In Lancaster, the FY2024 actual levy to be raised is estimated to be $24,056,507.08. This represents a 9.04% increase over last year’s levy of $22,061,020.63.

That's a bit of a surprise.   If you jump to page 34 of the "FY2024 Budget Book" that was distributed for town meeting, the levy was estimated at $23,734,143.

 

For revenue, the budget summary listed $21,779,615 from levied taxes, plus $910,982 more for debt previously excluded from Proposition 2 1/2 limits.  The summary budget left a $1,043,546 deficit that presumably was also to be levied after an override.   That's a total of $23,734,143 in levied taxes.

Why is the town taxing so much more than estimated?   I swapped a few emails with the town administrator, but didn't really get any answers.   Presumably one of the other two components of revenue -- money from the commonwealth or local revenue --  is expected to yield less than expected?

"Local Revenue" includes automobile excise taxes (more than 50% of the total last year) and the estimate for FY2024 was not very aggressive; it's a 5% increase over last years budget but appears to be roughly was actually received last year. 

The state as already sent "Cherry Sheet Estimates" for FY2024 Commonwealth payments.   The budget summary includes $1,386,044 of revenue "From the Commonwealth" and this year's "Cherry Sheet Estimate" totals $1.436,459.  That seems in line with expectation.

 

 

 

 

 

Our FY2024 Cherry Sheet Estimate, from DLS

 

 

 

 

 

Whatever the town's reason for levying more than advertised in May, raising that extra $340K will add another $120 or so to the average homeowner's tax bill.

Before the Q3 tax bill is issued at the end of the month the town will have to file a "Tax Rate Recapitulation" form with the state that should explain the levy a bit.  It will be publicly available on the DLS website, here:  DLS database of tax rate recapitulation forms.

The town will be using it's entire levy capacity this year -- a bit odd immediately after an override.  The budget suggested we'd have about $300K of unused levy capacity after the override.  This year's levy limit, including the amount we can levy for excluded debt ,will be $24,063,723.  On paper that leaves $7,200 in unused capacity this year, but it's mathematically inaccessible because we can't tax in fractions of a penny.

For FY2025, the levy limit will automatically increase by 2.5% ($23,071,147 * 2.5% = $576,779) plus some allowance (the estimate this year was $200K) for "new growth."    The FY2025 budget will probably have to anticipate an increase in the levy of less than 3%, which  that hasn't been the norm since 2010.   (The FY2025 budget will also include debt repayments for the highschool project, but it won't count toward the levy limit.)

Source: Massachusetts DLS Gateway