Why this matters for Duxbury

A common misconception is that rising property values automatically provide towns with more revenue, reducing the need for overrides. Under Massachusetts Proposition 2½, this is not the case.

For any given tax year, the levy is set independently of reassessments. When all homes appreciate equally, the tax rate simply falls — every homeowner pays the same dollar amount as before, and the town collects nothing extra from those reassessments.

The levy can grow year to year, but only through specific mechanisms: (1) the annual Prop 2½ limit allows the levy to increase up to 2.5% each year; (2) new growth — added taxable value from new construction or improvements — can raise the levy without a vote; and (3) voters can approve a Proposition 2½ override for a permanent increase in operating revenue. A debt exclusion is a separate tool used only for specific capital projects like a school building, and does not fund general operations.

Reassessments alone accomplish none of these. They only redistribute the existing levy among property owners based on relative value changes.