While the average payment in West Tisbury would have increased around eight per cent on each bill if spread across all four quarters, residents had to contend with the entire year’s increase in just the final bill.
Property values increased this year on Martha’s Vineyard, topping $20 billion in total assessed value, according to figures from the six towns and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
Property tax bills went out, and while homeowners continue to pay less than those on the mainland, their tax burden will be heavier.
A rising tide lifts all boats, they say. But the old aphorism about the economy apparently does not hold true for Vineyard real estate, as the most recent property valuations show.
A growing group of West Tisbury taxpayers, furious at their property tax bills and concerned about how the taxes are computed, received little solace during a stormy two-hour informational meeting with Vision Appraisal Technology on Tuesday evening at the Howes House.
p>A dozen stunned West Tisbury property owners crowded the normally quiet town assessors meeting this week to question their assessments and tax bills, which have more than doubled this year.