Hopkinton’s town tax rate, one of the highest in the state last year, has decreased by seven cents.
The town rate has been set at $33.55 per thousand, according to Hopkinton Town Administrator Neal Cass, down from 2015’s rate of $33.62. For someone with a home valued at $250,000, that will bring their tax bill down by $20 to $8,388, Cass said.
Hopkinton Village District also saw a decrease from $34.08 to $33.95. Contoocook Village District saw an increase from $35.61 to $33.66. Cass said the two village districts have a higher tax rate because they pay for water systems; Hopkinton homes mostly have private wells, he said.
Cass said the town tax rate was within a penny of what the Board of Select Men estimated it would be when the budget was set earlier this year. Any decrease in tax bills is good, but Hopkinton had the seventh-highest tax rate out of 259 New Hampshire towns in 2015, Cass said. Their school portion is also notably high: last year their rate was $21.15, making it the third-highest school portion in the state. This year, the school’s portion dropped to $21.07.
Cass attributed the decrease to the Hopkinton School District receiving more adequacy aid than anticipated. According to Hopkinton Superintendent Steve Chamberlin, the budgeted for $1,853,399.48 for the school year, but received $125,776.31 more than that, for a grand total of $1,979,175.79.