Freetown Select Board Sets FY2024 Tax Factor, Holds Downtown Building for Sewer Project

FREETOWN — December 4, 2023 — Freetown Select Board sets fiscal 2024 residential tax factor at .8340, favoring homeowners slightly over commercial accounts. The board voted unanimously Monday to adopt a classification shift of 1.6250 — producing an average residential bill increase of roughly $186 and an average commercial increase of $286 — after Town Assessor Mike walked members through a range of shift options and noted that fiscal year 2025 will bring compounding pressures from Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School debt payments and the expiration of Tax Increment Financing agreements with Stop and Shop and Amazon. The board also voted to keep 4 South Main Street, a deteriorating downtown building, off the real estate market while engineers determine whether it can host a submersible sewer pump station, and approved retirement incentive agreements for Police Chief Harry Ashley Jr. and Deputy Chief Neil LeFur, both pointed toward 2027 retirements. Town Administrator Jared confirmed ARPA funds have been approved for the ongoing radio communications tower project, with equipment contracts now signed with Industrial Communications.