To the Editor,
As a member of the MBTS Board of Assessors and one of three OpEd contributors (along with Mr. William Shipman and Mr. David Page) to recently address the subject of town real property taxes, I was amazed to read in the “What Was Happening” section that the town’s tax rate in 1961 was a whopping $59 per $1,000 of valuation! If that amount was not a typo, and the tax rate really was $59 per $1,000, then I think we can all rejoice in knowing that the current rate is a mere $10.99 per $1,000. No doubt that both home values and personal incomes have risen dramatically since 1961, when the town’s population was about 4,000, but adjusted for inflation, $59 in 1961 would be more than $500 today!
Robert Beatty, Manchester
