City Council sets new Fall River property tax rates for upcoming fiscal year

At a meeting this week, the Fall River City Council approved the new property tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

During the public hearing that took place before the council meeting, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, Richard Gonsalves, stated that growth has never been better in Fall River with home values increasing by 12% compared to last year. Commercial property increased by 1%. Personal property values have gone up 59%.

Gonsalves stated that the city’s net worth is valued at over $7 billion with a new growth of $3,743,000 million dollars. He attributed some of that value to the replacement of the gas lines that has been taking place throughout the city.

Gonsalves also stated that we are a better investment than New Bedford as Fall River’s median home value of $313,150 exceeds the Whaling City by several thousand dollars. Despite the increase in values, Goncalves stated that the median tax bill is still a few hundred lower than New Bedford.

Fall River City Councilors Tuesday approved the 1.75 tax shift for fiscal year 2023 which was the recommendation by Goncalves. It is the same shift as last year.

The rate for a median $313,150 home will result in a tax increase of just under $260. For the median commercial property of just under $690,000, the tax rate will result in a tax decrease of just under $830.

As part of this year’s tax bill will be the first debt exclusion payment for the new B.M.C. Durfee High School. The administration stated that they are not allowed to show the split on the tax bill of how much the exclusion is costing the property owner.