TELL US: Should the Gas Tax Be Raised to Fund Transit Projects?

It has not been increased in more than two decades. Some people say the time has come to raise it. Others say people pay enough taxes.

As time progresses, unfortunately so do prices. That cheap burger you bought many years ago is no longer so cheap. What once could be purchased with some loose change you found in your pocket now requires cash or a credit card. But for the past 21 years and counting, the state gasoline tax has remained the same. Massachusetts residents pay 21 cents per gallon at the pump, with nearly all the money going to fund public and private transportation projects and programs (roads, bridges, public transit systems, etc.). Some people say this amount is no longer sufficient to improve and maintain what the state has to offer. In its 2007 report, the state's independent Transportation Finance Commission recommended the tax be raised to 32 cents. The…

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Transparency Theme of Short-Term Goals for Dedham Selectmen

The board set out their goals for the next year at a meeting Thursday.

Dedham selectmen called upon themselves to become more transparent over the next year as the board set their goals for the next year. The board already has made steps toward publishing how tax revenue in town with the Solutions Task Force taking charge. Town Administrator William Keegan and selectman Sarah MacDonald are both committee members. “People want to know what they are paying for,” said selectman Carmen Dello Iacono. “[Taxpayers] want to understand. They are like sponges.” The Solutions Task Force is thinking of a graphical representation of the financial health of the town and how taxes are being spent using a four-page pamphlet. Selectman chair Jim MacDonald said the pamphlet would be similar to the state effort to put the …

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Owner: High Tax Rate Hurting Small Businesses in Dedham

Selectmen vow to work closer with small business owners moving forward.

Dedham tax assessors and selectmen met with local small business owners Tuesday morning to discuss how the tax rates are set and to begin a dialogue with local business owners. Director of Assessing John Duffy said in the beginning of the meeting that the assessors “do not raise or lower taxes,” they could only make recommendations to the selectmen and grant exceptions. But the abatement period to challenge assessments sent out in January expired in February. “We have no problem with making adjustments in your favor,” he said. The most common reasons for abatements include inaccurate age of building, square footage, vacant rental space, renovation, errors in transcription of data from paper to computer, or building’s construction material…

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Patch Facts

5 Things You Need To Know Today: April 19

Today's weather, pay your state taxes and pizza cooking class for kids.

"Five Things you Need to Know Today" is a Patch column that provides readers with essential, daily information at a glance. 

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Residents' Tax Bills to Rise an Average of $300, Town Will Seek Budget Cuts Again

The Board of Selectmen approved a plan to raise taxes to 14.37 percent, .80 percent higher than this year.

Dedham homeowners will see an average of a $300 increase in their tax bills next year, pending approval from the state's Department of Revenue. On average, taxpayers are slated to pay 14.37 percent of their home's assessed value, while commercial properties will pay 31.06 percent, according to figures provided by the town's Board of Assessors. For taxpayers, the raise will represent the fifth consecutive year tax bills went up. "The kick is we're talking about increasing taxes at the worst possible time," Selectman Carmen DelloIacono said. The office handles abatements and exemption requests – and not just from seniors as is perception, Bremer said. Often time people who retired young or young couples that own homes and others on a fixed …

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