Source: Town of Middletown
Many Middletown residents and business owners are looking at 2 percent increase in their Fiscal 2025 tax bills.
According to proposed figures rolled out for the first time Monday night to the Town Council, the median homeowner can expect to pay $100 more in taxes in the upcoming fiscal year compared to $236 for commercial property owners.
Those amounts include the cost of the debt service for the new middle-high school and open space bonds along with no noteworthy cuts in local services. Importantly, there’s also a 4 percent increase in the bottom-line budget for educational spending, which is above the current inflation rate.
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said he was proud of the budget and how it worked hard to help keep Middletown reasonable for those who live and do business here while moving the community forward together.
Before any of the numbers take effect, the Fiscal 2025 budget must be reviewed and approved by the council and rates set by town tax staff.
“Nothing we do in the Town of Middletown happens in a vacuum,” Brown said. “We’re very aware of our residents and businesses and work hard to make our community as affordable as possible while continuing to make it the best it can be to live, work and play.”
Heading into this budget season, there was concern from some about the impact of the new school and open space bonds as well as the impact of inflation on taxes.
Aware of those issues, Brown and his team took a close look at the numbers and the best way to keep Middletown affordable without any losses in its range of offerings from police and fire protection, education, public works and more.
Out of those discussions, Brown said the plan materialized to help reduce the tax burden on residents and business people, many who also live in town.
According to the preliminary totals, the proposed Fiscal 2025 residential tax rate is $8.65 per $1,000 of assessed value compared to $11.25 for nonresidents. That compares to $12.98 per $1,000 of assessed value for commercial property owners.
In real dollars, that means a $5,545 tax bill for a median residential home of $641,000, up from $5,545 now, or a $100 hike. For nonresidential property owners, the projected Fiscal 2025 tax bill would be $7,229 for a median home assessed at $642,750, or a $1,430 increase.
Under state law, the town can set a split residential tax rate no greater than 50 percent between Middletown homeowners and nonresidents in a revaluation year.
Known locally as the Tiered Residential Tax Program, the TRTP was enacted in 2022 by the Town Council to help make Middletown more affordable for residents.
Figures from the Tax Assessors office indicate of the 5,138 residential properties in Middletown, 2,978 participate in the TRTP, or about 58 percent.
Applications from those looking to see if they’re eligible for the TRTP benefit are still being accepted at the assessor’s office. Visit https://mdl.town/TRTP online or drop by the tax office weekdays 8 am-4 pm to learn more.
Commercial landowners with property assessed at the median of $985,850 are looking at a $12,793 tax bill in Fiscal 2025. That’s a $236 increase from the current bill.
Based on the proposed numbers, town departments were asked to make due with $20.9 million, which is 2.5 percent more than the Fiscal 2024 allocation. For the schools, that amount was $30.4 million along with another $200,000 in the multi-year deficit reduction plan, which is 4 percent plus more than now.
To view the tax rate presentation from Monday night, visit https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/12319/TaxRate online.
There was no discussion Monday night about the upcoming rates for enterprise funds like parking at the beaches, sewer fees or the Pay-As-You-Throw curbside trash and recycling program.
After receiving the report, council President Paul M. Rodrigues thanked the town administrator and his staff for putting together the information.
The next time the council is slated to meet to discuss the budget is on April 27 during its traditional all day workshop in Town Hall. That conversation gets going at 8 am with town department heads and 1 pm for the educational budget.
Public hearings about the budget are slated for May 22 and 29 at 6 pm in Town Hall, where residents and businesspeople have a chance to comment on any aspect of the proposed budget.