West Stockbridge — During their September 18 session, the Select Board discussed reviewing a real estate transfer fee proposal at its next meeting when Great Barrington Select Board Vice Chair Leigh Davis will present the idea to the group.
The proposal could apply a tax, in the form of a transfer fee, to the purchase of real estate in excess of $1 million, with those funds being deposited into the town’s Affordable Housing Trust. West Stockbridge recently formed its Affordable Housing Trust to preserve and create affordable housing in the town for the benefit of low- and moderate-income households, including financing community housing. Members were appointed to the Trust on September 5.
With West Stockbridge Select Board Chair Kathleen Keresey in attendance, Davis addressed the Stockbridge Select Board at their public meeting last week and asked for the town to urgently consider the proposal that must be accepted by voters at a Special Town Meeting, with such a meeting already slated for most South Berkshire towns on October 23 to discuss a school district merger. However, during Great Barrington’s September 18 Selectboard meeting, members voted to not include the measure in its October 23 town meeting.
According to Davis, should the proposal be accepted at the town meeting, it must then go to the State Legislature for approval before being returned to the individual towns to determine the regulation’s specifics. At the town meeting, the Special Act will be crafted to allow a town to impose a property transfer fee of up to 2 percent on certain real estate transactions; however, once approved by the State Legislature, each town can design its own fee limits up to that maximum and other particulars. For example, a town could impose a 1 percent transfer fee to be split equally between buyer and seller on the sale of $1 million-plus commercial, industrial, or residential properties.
On September 18, the West Stockbridge Select Board approved holding a Special Town Meeting on October 23. The board would need to vote on bringing forward the transfer tax measure by October 2 and post it for the Special Town Meeting by October 5 for the program to be considered by West Stockbridge voters on October 23.
Should the measure be approved by voters next month, Keresey said the town isn’t bound to embark on the program but can iron out the details (i.e. rate of tax) before the next town meeting or form a task force to “see what works for our town.” She explained, “I think it’s just kind of an opportunity to get more information at this point in time.”
Member Andy Potter, who was appointed to the West Stockbridge Affordable Housing Trust at the Select Board’s last meeting, said he was looking forward to hearing from Davis.
Pursuant to a report produced by the West Stockbridge Board of Assessors as part of a market trend study this spring, five homes within the town’s borders sold for more than $1 million each in 2022, for a total of $9,520,000. If a 1 percent real estate transfer tax had been in place, the program would have yielded $95,200 for the Affordable Housing Trust fund.
At the meeting, the Select Board also approved setting Trick or Treat for 4 to 6 p.m. on October 31; discussed using CodeRed—a program that contacts residents through email, text, or phone—to disseminate information to constituents; and approved joining the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority that will provide seniors and those who are mobility impaired with a second commuter service.
