Montpelier Property Tax Rate is Down; Tax Bills are Up

Property owners in Montpelier should have received city tax bills by now, and while you may notice a lower tax rate, the total amount due may have changed significantly from last year.

Following a reassessment of the grand list, residential property values went up an average of 53% according to Marty Lagerstedt, the Montpelier city assessor. Because of that, the property tax rate has lowered, but it now raises more money.

On Aug. 23, the city council approved the fiscal year municipal tax rate of $.8949 and a water/sewer “benefit charge” of $.02, along with a “sewer separation charge” of $.07. While the municipal tax rate is down $.36 per $100 of assessed value (−28.9%), it may show up as a property tax increase on many bills. Combined with the school tax, the total tax rate is now $2.105 down $.92 cents (-30.5%) for residential — or “homestead” — properties, and $2.208, down $.96 cents (-30.2%), for commercial or “non-homestead” properties.

What does that mean for an average home? A homeowner with a $300,000 home paying a total tax rate (including all charges plus the school tax) will get a bill for $6,313 this year. It’s hard to compare it to past years’ bills, however, said Lagerstedt. For one thing, the city budget increased 7.6% for FY24. For another, while most property values increased, some decreased in the reassessment.

“There’s so many things at play, it’s really hard to say everyone’s going to see an increase or decrease,” Lagerstedt said.

Quarterly property tax bills are due by Oct. 2. If you don’t agree with the increase in your property’s reassessed value, it’s too late to grieve it (the deadline passed several weeks ago), but “there’s always next year,” Lagerstedt said. “You can grieve every year.”

Those with properties damaged in the July flood can file for a tax abatement he said. And if property values in flooded areas don’t rebound, he said the city has a mechanism to deal with it.

“We do an annual sale study. If sales start going down, the tax rate is adjusted accordingly.”