By Beth David, Editor
At its meeting on 12/2/24, the Fairhaven Select Board set the tax rate for FY 2025 resulting in a small rate increase. On the recommendation of the board of Assessors and Principal Assessor Joanne Correia, the board voted to approve a residential rate of $9.32 per thousand, and a Commercial, Industrial & Personal Property (CIP) rate of $18.48, which keeps the same shift of 1.75% as in previous years.
Last year’s rates were $9.23/1000 residential, and $18.37/1000 CIP.
Last year’s average home value was $397,455 resulting in an average property tax bill of $3,668.51. This year’s average home value is $410,731, resulting in a property tax bill of $3,828.01 with the new rate.
If the town abandoned the shift and adopted a single tax rate, it would be $10.56/1000 for all property resulting in a bill of $4,337.32 for the average home vs. $3,828.01
Ms. Correia ran through several different scenarios using different CIP shifts.
In another matter, Acting Town Administrator, Anne Carreiro, told the board that the Interim Town Administrator Screening Committee met on 11/27 and discussed questions to put forward to candidates. She said they will meet on 12/9 to conduct interviews.
That committee will send at least two names to the Select Board for interviews.
SB member Andrew Saunders, who is the SB representative on the committee, added that there had been some feedback about the Open Meeting Law (OML) because the meeting on 11/22 was not posted and was not recorded. Mr. Saunders had given a report on the meeting at the SB’s 11/25 meeting, alerting the public to its existence.
At this week’s meeting, Mr. Saunders insisted that no OML violation had taken place. He said the committee met “for the purposes of establishing our schedule.”
“We did not have any substantive discussions during that meeting,” said Mr. Saunders.
He said his “verbal description” of the 11/22 meeting was simply about the “banter” between Ms. Carreiro, and committee member Jeff Osuch, who was also the town’s Executive Secretary for 28 years.
Mr. Saunders said it was “intriguing” to watch them interact, as they have known each other for so many years.
Ms. Carreiro said their interaction had nothing to do with the TA, but was more about budget season.
Later in the meeting the board discussed the procedure they will use for hiring an Interim TA. The interview process must be done in open session by statute.
The board went back and forth on how to make the process fair, possibly videotaping and not going out live to keep candidates from knowing the questions, etc.
In the end, the board decided to conduct the interviews live and have the other candidates wait in the hall.
They will deliberate and try to make a decision that same night.
The board needs to wait for the names from the screening committee and then will set the date.
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