Reading’s Tax Rate Recalculated Upward

High school debt mistakenly omitted from previous rate.

Like a car’s GPS that tells you to adjust your route if you miss a turn, the town’s appraiser has recalculated the property tax rate in Reading, and it’s -- up. The correct rate is $14.94 per thousand of a property’s value, not $14.39 per thousand, according to Chief Appraiser Victor Santaniello. That means the average tax bill for a single-family house valued at $432,000, the town average, will go up $169, to $6,459. That’s an increase of 2.68 percent over the current average of $6,290. The average commercial tax bill will rise by $406, to $22,527.That’s an increase of 1.84 percent from the current average of $22,121. Santaniello, the town’s new chief appraiser who shares appraising duties almost equally between Reading and Wakefield, …

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Week in Review

Five Stories Making News in North Reading Last Week

Snow captivated our attention, but there was a lot going on in town.

Patch takes a look back at the top news-making stories in North Reading from the past week:

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How Does North Reading's Tax Rate Compare With the Region?

Town is one of three in the area with a single tax rate.

North Reading has one of the higher fiscal year 2011 residential tax rates of towns in the immediate area, and it is one of the few to have a single rate for all property owners, according to data from the Department of Revenue. In December, the North Reading Board of Selectmen reaffirmed a single tax rate of $14 for all residential, commercial and industrial property owners, an increase of 53 cents over the fiscal year 2010 rate of $13.47. Of the towns in the immediate area, only Andover has a higher residential tax rate, at $14.12. Selectmen also debated whether to split the tax rate, meaning residential taxpayers would pay a lower rate than commercial and industrial property owners. Selectmen ultimately adopted a single rate, saying a …

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