Carver Select Board Keeps Commercial Tax Shift at 1.40, Rejecting Assessors' Recommended Cut

CARVER — November 18, 2025 — Carver Select Board unanimously holds commercial property tax shift at 1.40, rebuffing assessors' push to lower it. The board voted Tuesday to maintain the residential factor at 0.9204 for fiscal year 2026, rejecting a Board of Assessors recommendation to drop the commercial shift from 1.40 to 1.38. Select Board member Sarah Hewins moved to hold the rate steady, arguing that residents facing cuts to federal benefits and rising health care costs could not absorb a higher residential rate. Board of Assessors member Michael Paddock had said business owners reported the current split "amounts to quite a surcharge for businesses in town, which was up to 45%." The full tax levy for FY26 is $35,948,017, with 83 percent falling on residential property. At a joint session with the Finance Committee, Capital Outlay Committee, and School Committee, departments outlined more than $2 million in combined FY27 capital requests, including $800,000 for fire department PPE replacement approaching its 10-year NFPA expiration and $823,000 in school department requests. Select Board member James Cotter warned that the town cannot sustain its capital needs through free cash alone and called for a dedicated capital funding source.