Everyone in Town has been hit with a significant increase in property taxes this year.  We are often asked what can be done about it.  If you believe your property is assessed incorrectly or there is an error on your bill, you are encouraged to contact the Assessor's Agent, Alice Pearse, to make an appointment with the Assessors.  The only way to avoid paying the tax is for the tax to be abated by the Assessors due to an error, or by the Selectmen as a poverty abatement.  Failure to pay your taxes can eventually result in the foreclosure of your property.

So, what can you do if you are having trouble paying your taxes?

• If you have a mortgage, consider an escrow account and the money will be collected along with your mortgage payment and used to pay the taxes at the proper time.
• If you don't have a mortgage, set up a special savings account and put money toward you  taxes on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly basis so that you will have it when the bill  arrives.
• If you are already behind, pay toward your balance regularly.  You have 18 months from the  filing of a tax lien to pay the balance for that year to avoid foreclosure.  Don't wait  until you get an impending foreclosure notice!
• Pay as much extra as you can to get your taxes caught up, then continue to pre-pay toward  the next year if you have difficulty saving the money in a bank account.
• Make sure that you have applied for any programs that you are eligible for whether it be an  exemption or the State tax and rent refund program.  See the Assessor's page for a link to those programs.