All meetings in Truro are remote only. Go to truro-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch. The agenda includes instructions on how to join.
Thursday, August 26
- Truro School Committee, 5:15 p.m.
Friday, August 27
- Select Board, 10 a.m.
Saturday, August 28
- Climate Action Committee public event, 3:30 p.m., Truro Public Library
Monday, August 30
- Local Comprehensive Planning Committee, 10 a.m.
Wednesday, September 1
- Planning Board, 5 p.m.
Thursday, September 2
- Climate Action Committee, 10:30 a.m.
Conversation Starters
RTE Goes to 25 Percent
The select board on Aug. 24 raised the amount of the town’s residential tax exemption (RTE) from the current 20 percent of the average assessed value of a home to 25 percent.
The select board voted 3-2 to raise the exemption, which applies to 616 domiciled (or resident) home owners in town. There are another 3,344 home owners who are not residents and don’t qualify for the RTE, said Assessor Jon Nahas. They will have to pay slightly more in property taxes.
The 20-percent exemption has been in effect since 2018, and the Truro Board of Assessors recommended keeping it there.
But three select board members, Kristen Reed, Bob Weinstein, and Stephanie Rein, voted to raise it to match what Provincetown offers its domiciled residents. Board members Sue Areson and John Dundas disagreed.
One of the purposes of the policy, adopted in 16 Massachusetts communities, is to give a tax break to year-round residents in towns where prices are dictated by the second-home vacation market.
Critics of the RTE often argue that it helps year-rounders living in multi-million-dollar homes who do not need financial help.
Nahas did an analysis of who could potentially benefit from the program. He found that 60 percent of the 616 year-round residents own homes valued at or below the average assessed value of $699,911. Eleven percent own homes valued between $699,911 and $800,000. Thirteen percent own property assessed at between $1 and $2 million. One percent, or six people, have homes valued over $2 million.
The equation that determines the exemption is progressive, so that people with higher-valued homes get less of a benefit.
Nahas said the program helps people who live in lower-end properties the most.
“So, it is working as intended,” Nahas said. —K.C. Myers