With the tax rates certified by the state Department of Revenue, the towns of Hawley and Buckland can begin calculating and sending out property tax bills for fiscal year 2026, and residents can expect their bills to increase by an average of $43 and $286, respectively.
Hawley
The Selectboard voted unanimously to use a single tax rate for all residential, commercial, industrial and personal properties, following the recommendation of the Board of Assessors. The average tax bill for a single-family home in Hawley is $4,648 for FY26.
“The assessors are recommending, once again, a single tax rate,” Hawley Financial Administrator Virginia Gabert told the Selectboard last week. “Based on the approved assessed values, and the budget and expenditures planned for this year, the tax rate would be $16.20 [per $1,000 valuation].”
This fiscal year’s tax rate is 15 cents less than last year’s. However, amid a slight increase in property values and the town budget, the average tax bill is up by 0.9%.
The value of a single-family home in Hawley rose, on average, by $5,240 from one year to the next. For FY26, the average value of a single-family home in town is $286,904.
Over the past 10 years, the average value has remained relatively stagnant, increasing by 25.6%, with the majority of that spike occurring in the past five years. By comparison, statewide, the average value of a single-family home has risen 86% over the past 10 years, according to Department of Revenue data.
Buckland
In Buckland, homeowners can expect their tax bills to increase by $286 on average. Like Hawley, Buckland is seeing increases in property values and the town budget.
The state Department of Revenue has certified the rate for FY26 at $16.74 per $1,000 of assessed value (a decrease of 20 cents from FY25), which will create an average tax bill of $5,804 for a single-family home. This is a 5% increase from the average tax bill in FY25.
For FY26, the average value of a single-family home in Buckland is $346,743, an increase of just over $21,000 from the prior fiscal year.
Over the past 10 years, homeowners have seen the value of a single-family home rise by 67% in Buckland. The increases are on par with neighboring communities such as Ashfield (53.6% over the past 10 years) and Shelburne (65.2% over the past 10 years), but still lower than the statewide average of 86%.
The increases in tax bills will help the town cover budget increases for FY26. At last May’s Annual Town Meeting, voters approved a $5.9 million operating budget that represents a 6.7% increase ($368,140) over FY25’s figures.