Claremont’s Bum Rap on Taxes and How the Revaluation Might Help Change It

By Dale Girard
At this past week’s Claremont’s City Council meeting, I heard the comment, “Claremont has the highest tax rate in the State of New Hampshire.” Many people hear this information and become angry with the local government. These individuals don’t recognize the difference between the tax rate versus the tax invoice which is paid by a property owner.

Tax rates are based upon the total amount to be raised by city, state and county governments, divided by total value of taxable property in the community. In the spring of 2022, the state of New Hampshire reported our tax valuations at 56% of their actual market value. This is based upon the sale price of properties over the year, versus their assessed values. As many have noticed since 2020, property sale prices in Claremont have risen considerably.

According to the website www.joeshimkus.com, in 2022, Claremont had the highest tax rate, one of the lowest median home values and the median tax bill was in the 50 percent range of the state average. What does this mean? This shows that Claremont has one of the most affordable housing prices in the state. If you purchase the same home in another community, you will pay a much higher price.

To correct the discrepancy between tax and sales valuation, the city hired Vision Government Solutions to perform an appraisal on all properties in the community. This will bring tax appraisals equal to the current sales market in Claremont.

Prior to the values being finalized, many property owners were able to see their projected property values. The values were prematurely uploaded to the Vision’s website, which automatically uploaded to the city’s GIS. Property owners should have received notification in the US Mail prior to this information being posted.

Vision, along with our contracted assessor, gave a presentation at the last council meeting. The new overall city tax value (grand list) of properties has risen 62%. This does not include the utility values which could change the overall value. We learned the average value increase on single-family homes is up 79%, two family 79%, three family 88%, apartments 129% and commercial property is up 45%. Over the next few weeks, property owners will receive a letter with their updated value. At that time, you will have the ability to speak with appraisers from Vision to answer any questions. The letter will give you instructions and a phone number to contact.

The new tax rate will be set by the NH Department of Revenue administration towards the end of the year. Prior to setting the rate they will receive information from the city, county and school to be able to calculate.

The next time you are discussing taxes in the city, please understand tax rates are not set equally across the state. Tax rates are based upon home values in your community. We understand nobody likes to pay taxes. Please do not use the current tax rate to figure out your estimated tax bill, this will only cause you unnecessary frustration.

— Dale Girard is the mayor of Claremont, NH