Boxborough Board Sets Single Tax Rate, Approves New Pension Funding Policy

BOXBOROUGH -- October 28, 2024, Boxborough Select Board sets single FY 2025 tax rate, backs police reaccreditation, and adopts pension funding policy. The board voted unanimously Monday to maintain a 1.0 residential tax factor, with Town Assessor Kelly Price reporting the average single-family home value rose to $895,000, lifting the estimated average tax bill to approximately $13,265, an increase of roughly $600, even as the estimated rate dipped to $14.81 per thousand. The board also approved a revised OPEB and pension financial policy establishing a $50,000 annual minimum and $300,000 guideline contribution toward the town's unfunded retiree health-care liability, with a strategy to redirect those funds toward the pension once OPEB is fully funded; the town's annual pension assessment is expected to reach approximately $1.5 million this year. Police Chief John Kilvlin and Sergeant Bollock presented the department's reaccreditation by the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission through 2027, noting the department met all 270 mandatory standards and approximately 70 of 140 optional standards under the new sixth-edition framework. The board voted 4-1 to repaint the town hall exterior in its existing red, white, and blue scheme, and unanimously authorized a letter of support for the proposed Northern Tier Rail extension from Fitchburg to North Adams.