Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Wellfleet are held online and in person. Go to www.wellfleet-ma.gov/calendar and click on the meeting you want to watch, then follow the instructions on the agenda.
Thursday, Oct. 24
- Nauset Regional School Committee, Communications Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Nauset Admin. Bldg. conference room
- Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., LCTV, 5 Namskaket Road, Orleans and online
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 7 p.m., Adult Community Center and online
Tuesday, Oct. 29
- Select Board, 7 p.m., Adult Community Center and online
Wednesday, Oct. 30
- Maurice’s Planning Committee, 2:30 p.m.
Conversation Starters
An RTE Uptick
At the select board’s annual tax classification hearing on Oct. 8, a split board voted to bump up the residential tax exemption (RTE) from 30 to 32.5 percent. The RTE allows year-round residents to exempt a fixed amount (a percentage of the town’s median home value) from the assessed value of their primary residences.
According to Assessor Nancy Vail, 882 property owners have requested the exemption, less than a fifth of all properties in Wellfleet.
The board increased the exemption from 25 to 30 percent last year and this year discussed increasing the exemption to the state’s maximum of 35 percent, but that motion failed, with chair John Wolf, Sheila Lyons, and Ryan Curley opposed. Curley moved to split the difference at 32.5 percent with support from vice chair Michael DeVasto and Barbara Carboni.
With the seasonal communities designation in the Affordable Homes Act that Gov. Maura Healey signed in August, all four Outer Cape Cod towns will soon be allowed to set their RTE as high as 50 percent.
DeVasto argued that the town should use every tool at its disposal to encourage year-round residency, while others worried that the exemption is increasing too quickly.
“I never took my tax exemption because I wanted to support this town,” said Lyons. “I took it for the first time this year and I was really amazed at what the difference was. And that’s being put on other people.”
Town Administrator Tom Guerino opposed the increase. “At what point do you stop putting that burden on the second homeowner, and when does it become a point of contention? When the nonresident seasonal homeowner is paying about 65 or 70 percent of the bill?”
Guerino suggested waiting to increase the RTE during a year with a substantial tax levy override. “The year that you’re going to get a big whack is a good year to do this,” he said.
The Bill Is in the Mail
An announcement on the town’s website says that the town is running late on issuing FY2025 tax bills and aims to send them out by early November. They are due a month after issuance. —Sam Pollak
