Prospect lowers mill rate

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Mayor Robert Chatfield speaks during the Town Council meeting Tuesday night.
Mayor Robert Chatfield speaks during the Town Council meeting Tuesday night.

PROSPECT — The Town Council set the mill rate for next year at 25.2, a 0.06 mill decrease from this year’s rate of 25.26.

The change will save each household about $11 to $15 in taxes, according to Mayor Bob Chatfield.

Chatfield presented the mill rate at the Town Council’s meeting Tuesday night. The council approved the new rate.

A mill is worth $1 in taxes for every $1,000 of assessed property value. So, the owner of a property worth $200,000 would pay $5,040 next year, $12 less than this year.

“Many towns are not fortunate enough to be able to lower their taxes,” Chatfield pointed out.

The mill rate is set by calculating the town’s revenues other than taxes and subtracting that from the town budget and Region 16 budget. Taxpayers pay the difference.

The mill rate would have decreased even more if the state hadn’t cut $325,000 in grants to the Region 16 school district, Chatfield said. Now, Prospect has to pick up its share of that tab.

Revenues for the town include state and federal grants, interest, liens, and fees.

A new property tax relief grant from the state should bring in an extra $89,200 for the town, but that grant may not be available next year. It takes out $14,000 for a state grant for manufacturing machinery and equipment.

Prospect held steady on most of the other state grants. The revenue sheet also adds $5,000 for property conveyance taxes and $7,000 for sales/recycling.

Taxpayers of Prospect unanimously passed a $6.9 million budget at a town meeting in April and supported the school budget in referendum. The 2011-12 town budget is $3,438 less than this year’s budget.

The Town Council also voted to waive tax bills of less than $2.