GREENFIELD, MA (FRANKLIN COUNTY NOW) — Greenfield Mayor Desorgher and the Greenfield Assessors Department have surpassed the projected new growth for Fiscal Year 2025, with an additional $241,000 of new growth applied to the tax levy, bringing the FY25 total to over $641,000, the city’s highest new growth in the past five fiscal years. A statement from the Mayor’s Office said that $200,000 of the additional new growth is from Eversource with the other $41,000 coming from previously untaxed values, including from various commercial and residential construction projects and improvements.
From the City of Greenfield:
Greenfield Announces $641,548 in New Growth for FY25
GREENFIELD – Mayor Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher and the Greenfield Assessors Department are pleased to share that the city is injecting $641,548 in new growth to Greenfield’s tax levy, surpassing the city’s projection of $400,000 in new growth for fiscal year 2025 (FY25).
Developing new growth opportunities in Greenfield was an immediate priority for Mayor Desorgher. In her FY25 budget message, Desorgher noted that “the goal is to capture all the new growth that is happening in our beautiful community.”
Below are annual New Growth amounts from recent years:
Fiscal Year 2021: $265,308 in total new growth applied to the levy limit.
Fiscal Year 2022: $372,965 in total new growth applied to the levy limit.
Fiscal Year 2023: $406,774 in total new growth applied to the levy limit.
Fiscal Year 2024: $303,523 in total new growth applied to the levy limit.
Fiscal Year 2025: $641,548 in total new growth applied to the levy limit.
The Desorgher Administration approached incorporating new growth with careful planning and consideration. In April, Mayor Desorgher began collaborating with the Board of Assessors in special new growth meetings to identify areas where new growth could be accelerated.
The city conducted several measures to improve new growth, including:
· The Board of Assessors conducted personal property inventory in the summer after concluding that the city’s valuations were previously not identified. This thorough process ensures that all taxable personal property items, such as inventory, furniture and fixtures, equipment and machinery used in the conduct of business, are accurately listed and assessed. This added 88 new taxable accounts and approximately $240,000 of new growth onto the city’s tax levy.
· New growth from the city’s largest personal property account, Eversource, generated approximately $200,000 in new growth for FY25.
· The other new growth funds were incorporated from previously untaxed values, including from various commercial and residential construction projects and improvements.
“We identified new growth early on as an opportunity for fiscal improvement,” said Mayor Virginia “Ginny” Desorgher. “I am proud of the Board of Assessors for executing this important initiative. This new growth will be an essential component to the city’s finances.”
“Our goal as assessors is to be fair and equitable, and we noticed that personal property valuations needed attention,” said Chief Assessor Randall Austin. “I want to thank Board of Assessors members Jim Geisman and Chuck Green for prioritizing this initiative for our community.”