SOUTHWICK — Town Assessor Randy Austin said on Nov. 25 he’s extending the public disclosure of the town’s property valuations to Dec. 8.
This delay, he said, will allow his staff extra time to prepare for the tax classification hearing the Select Board will hold on that date to set the tax rate, which he predicts will be lowered.
“I was a little overzealous in my expectation,” Austin said about pushing the date back a week.
He also said that closing the public disclosure, originally set for Dec. 1 — with Thanksgiving “stuck in the middle” — will give residents extra time to check on their property valuation.
“It’s better to make sure people have that opportunity,” he said.
The Department of Revenue requires municipalities to release property valuations during revaluation years for a minimum of five days. The disclosure will now be open for 19 days.
In early October, Austin, who was appointed as the town’s assessor in September by the Select Board, attended his first meeting of the Board of Assessors.
At the meeting, he announced that about a third of the town’s property was undervalued.
Days after starting, Austin was directed by the DOR to check on a query made by a resident asking why their property was valued so much higher than a neighbor with a similarly-sized home and lot.
After inspecting several properties on that street, he determined that the property cards, found on the town’s GIS portal, indicated the homes were in fair condition, but were “nowhere near that.”
That led Austin and his staff to comb through the property cards to learn if there were more undervaluations for other homes and property in town.
They reviewed 1,136 of the town’s 3,183 properties — about 36% — and did find others undervalued.
Of those, 194 had a change of 5% or less; 480 had a change between 5-10%; 250 had a change of 10-15%; 179 had a change of 15-20%; 30 had a change between 20-25%; 33 had a change between 25-35%, and 17 between 35-54%.
Austin stressed that 81% of the 1,136 reviewed had a change of 15% or less.
With the overall increase of the values of the town’s properties, Austin said the tax rate will, in all likelihood, be dropped, perhaps by a dollar or more. He added that this is not his decision but one made by the Select Board.
Because of Proposition 2 ½, the Select Board cannot exceed 2.5% of the assessed value of all taxable property contained within the town when deciding the tax rate.
The tax rate is recalculated each year to account for changes in property valuation and changes in the town’s tax levy, the amount of money it needs to raise in local taxes in order to fund the budget approved at Town Meeting the previous spring. As the levy, which is approved by the DOR, increases, average tax bills increase.
The rate fluctuates to produce the required revenue.
Austin said because of that, many property owners will see tax bills rise as they would in any typical year.
Last year, with the tax rate increased from $15.47 to $15.57, a home valued at $380,000, which is the median price of a Southwick property, paid an additional $38 annually.
Since 2023, the town’s total property valuation has increased by 14.6%.
In 2023, the total value of the town’s real estate was $1,372,372,587.
In 2024, that increased by $143,165,451, to $1,515,538,038, or a 10.5% increase.
In 2025, the total of the town’s property valuation was $1,589,891,740, an increase of $74,353,702, or a 2.4% increase.
Austin said it is too soon for a final valuation total because there are still some valuations being adjusted.
Since the public disclosure, he said residents have already begun stopping by the assessor’s office in Town Hall with questions about their valuations.
That has allowed him to start on-site inspections of homes before the abatement process opens on Jan. 1.
Those applications are in the assessor’s office, Senior Center and public library.
To help residents with the process, Austin will be holding informational meetings during January. The dates have yet to be determined.
However, those who file for an abatement should be aware that there will be a site visit to the property in question by Austin or another representative of his office, and it will include an examination of the exterior and interior of every structure on the property.
The Board of Assessors was scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday night in Town Hall, but because there wasn’t a quorum, it was canceled.
“We’re not trying to hide anything,” Austin said about the meeting’s cancellation, calling it an “unforeseen circumstance.”
“We found out late in the day that one of the board members couldn’t make it,” he said.
Board member Dean Horacek had already announced he couldn’t attend, Austin said. William Brown IV was at the meeting. Board Chair John Cain was the member who called out late.
