Bellingham Select Board cuts residential tax factor to 0.87 for fiscal 2025

BELLINGHAM — November 25, 2024 — Bellingham Select Board unanimously lowered the residential tax shift factor from 0.89 to 0.87, moving more of the fiscal 2025 property tax burden onto commercial and industrial properties. Chief Assessor Betsy Canover reported the town captured just under $2 million in new taxable growth — a ten-year record — driven by two new warehouses on Depot and Mechanic streets, completion of the Curtis Apartments assessment, and 50 new homes added to the rolls from the Harmony subdivision and the Condos at Bungee Brook development. Under the new factor, the average single-family home assessed at $459,000 will owe approximately $5,773, an increase of $320 over last year, compared to $5,892 under the prior factor. The board also reaffirmed the 10 percent small business exemption and voted to return $53,936 in surplus road project funds to Norfolk County for reallocation. Canover cautioned that next year's new growth will not match this year's record, noting that several major developments — including the 177-unit Redmill Estates — have not yet recorded plans and will not appear on the fiscal 2026 rolls.