As the town looks ahead to millions of dollars in school building construction and capital improvement projects, the Board of Selectmen is looking at the potential cost to taxpayers.
Last month, the board, led by Selectmen Chairman Alex Vispoli, held a series of meetings to discuss the problem of rising property taxes.
It was Vispoli’s goal to educate not just the public, but other town officials, about the impact of property taxes on homeowners and business owners alike.
“We want to reduce the rate of tax increase,” Vispoli said. “Last year was unsustainable.”
For fiscal year 2018, which ended June 30, 2018, the average tax bill rose 4.6 percent, well above the 10-year average of 3.4 percent, according to town documents.
That translates into a tax bill for the current fiscal year of $9,965 for the average home in Andover assessed at $613,261.
Town Manager Andrew Flanagan explained at a recent meeting with members of the Finance Committee, School Committee and Board of Selectmen that the tax bill is projected to go up nearly 4 percent next year.
Driving the high taxes are a number of factors, Vispoli and Flanagan said, including health insurance, retirement costs, health insurance for retired employees, along with the normal salaries and benefits of current employees.
In addition, school officials want to build or renovate school buildings.
In particular, the West Elementary School rebuilding project has an estimated cost of $45 million, while the Andover High School project could cost anywhere from $7 million to $185 million.
Both projects need to be approved by voters at Town Meeting and at the ballot box because they will require Proposition 2-1/2 overrides to pay the costs. The state is expected to reimburse a portion of the costs for the West Elementary School. Andover High School has not been approved for state reimbursement yet.
The burden on the taxpayer for the West Elementary project, according to town documents, would last 30 years, starting at $212 a year in 2021 and dropping to $108 a year by 2051.
The high school project, meanwhile, estimated at $54 million, would add $258 a year in the first year, 2023, and go down over the next 30 years to $129 a year by 2053.
The higher the estimated cost of the high school project, the higher the burden on taxpayers.
Flanagan said during the recent hearing that the town is currently facing a $1.4 million budget.
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