Palmer Select Board Unanimously Adopts Single Tax Rate for Fiscal Year 2026

PALMER — November 10, 2025 — Palmer Select Board sets $16.66 tax rate as sewer grant bid falls short again. The board voted unanimously Monday to adopt a single tax rate of $16.66 per thousand for fiscal year 2026, a 1.1 percent increase over last year's rate of $16.48, following a classification hearing presented by Principal Assessor Rachel Carney. The projected average single-family tax bill will rise about 2.7 percent to approximately $5,014, based on an average assessed value of $300,932; Palmer's levy of $25,202,403 sits $206,436 below the maximum allowable limit under Proposition 2½. The board also approved a $3,150 appropriation to certify Building Official Bill as a fire plans examiner, after he told the board the absence of any such certification among Palmer's three fire districts had caused permit delays of up to nine weeks. In the town manager's report, Brad disclosed that the state's One-Stop grant program — which received 160 applications seeking $244 million against only $97 million available — again declined to fund construction of the Thorndike Street sewer siphon replacement, a project estimated at $6 million to $8 million, with reviewers citing the absence of a committed local funding source as a weakness.