New Bedford assessors scheduled their yearly tax split review for Thursday; no figures are posted yet
Homeowners pay $10.95 per $1,000 of value this year and businesses $21.80. We have seen no record yet of the assessors' Thursday meeting, and the City Council votes on the split before fiscal 2027 bills go out.
NEW BEDFORD Updated 11:05 a.m. Nov. 5, 2026.
New Bedford's Board of Assessors scheduled its yearly tax classification review for 9 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, an early step in deciding how much of next year's property tax bill falls on homeowners and how much on businesses.
The review was item 6 on the board's meeting notice, which the City Clerk's office stamped Nov. 2, for Room 112 at City Hall, 133 William St. The notice listed no figures. We have seen no minutes, recommendation or other record of the meeting, and we are asking the Assessor's Office.
New Bedford taxes homes and businesses at different rates, and the City Council decides each fall how far to shift the load. This year the gap is wide: homeowners pay $10.95 per $1,000 of assessed value in fiscal 2026 and commercial, industrial and personal property pays $21.80, according to the Assessor's Office page and state Division of Local Services figures. On a $100,000 slice of value, that is $1,095 for a home and $2,180 for a business.
What the review decides
Under state law, a city that taxes classes at different rates picks a residential factor, which sets how much of the levy homes carry compared with their share of the city's total value. The law caps the business classes at 175% of their share of value. The assessors prepare the values and the options, and the council votes at a public classification hearing.
New Bedford already sits close to that cap. In fiscal 2026, homes and other residential property made up 84.1% of the city's $12.6 billion in taxable value but paid 72.7% of the $159.6 million levy, by SC360's calculation from the state figures. Business property, at 15.9% of value, paid about 1.72 times its share.
The average single-family home was assessed at $424,920 that year, with a tax bill of $4,653, the state reports. At a single rate for every class, about $12.67 per $1,000 by the same calculation, that bill would have been about $5,384.
The numbers behind fiscal 2027
| Fiscal year | Residential rate | Business rate | Total levy | Avg. single-family bill | Residential share of levy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $11.31 | $22.85 | $155.2 million | $4,492 | 71.5% |
| 2026 | $10.95 | $21.80 | $159.6 million | $4,653 | 72.7% |
The levy itself is set to grow. New Bedford levied $159.6 million in fiscal 2026 against a $171.9 million limit under Proposition 2 1/2, leaving $12.3 million in unused taxing room, the state reports. In his May 13 budget address, Mayor Jon Mitchell said of that room, "We will need to use all of it this year." The limit rises 2.5% a year plus new construction, so a levy taxed to the full fiscal 2027 limit would be at least $176.2 million, by SC360's calculation.
As of Nov. 2, the state's figures listed no fiscal 2027 values or rates for New Bedford, so the size of next year's bills is not yet known.
How we got here
Last year the council held its fiscal 2026 classification hearing at a 6 p.m. special meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, advertised two weeks earlier, according to that meeting's agenda. The agenda listed an order adopting the minimum residential factor, the setting that shifts the most tax allowed onto business property.
What happens next
The council has not posted a classification hearing for fiscal 2027. Its meeting calendar lists a special City Council meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m., with no agenda posted yet, and regular council meetings Thursday, Nov. 12, and Tuesday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m.
How to reach the board
The notice listed Thursday's assessors meeting as open to the public. The board is Chair Kimberly M. Saunders, Peter E. Berthiaume and Linda M. Morad. The notice also listed an executive session on abatement and exemption requests, which is closed under the state open meeting law. The Assessor's Office takes calls at 508-979-1440 and email at Assessors@newbedford-ma.gov, the notice says. We will update this story when we have a record of the meeting.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Board of Assessors' meeting notice, the city's Assessor's Office page and council calendar, state Division of Local Services figures, state law and the mayor's May 13 budget address. We read the notice, the Assessor's page, the council calendar and the law on Nov. 5 and the state figures on Nov. 2. The shares of value and levy, the single rate, the per-$100,000 amounts and the $176.2 million floor are SC360's arithmetic from the state's numbers. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar. Not heard: the assessors had not posted a recommendation or any fiscal 2027 figures before the meeting, and we have seen no record of the meeting itself. We are asking the Assessor's Office what the board did.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (9)
- New Bedford Board of Assessors, Public Meeting Notice for Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026 (stamped by the City Clerk's Office 12:59 p.m. Nov. 2, 2026)City of New Bedford. 9 a.m. meeting, City Hall Room 112; item 6 Tax Classification Review; executive session on abatements and exemptions; board members; accommodation contact. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- City of New Bedford, Assessor's Office pageCity of New Bedford. Fiscal 2026 rates $10.95 residential and $21.80 commercial, industrial and personal property; fiscal 2025 rates $11.31 and $22.85; office address and phone. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Tax Rates by Class and Assessed Values by Class, New BedfordMassachusetts Department of Revenue. Rates and assessed values by class, fiscal 2023 to 2026; no fiscal 2027 figures listed. Downloaded by SC360 Nov. 2, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Excess Levy Capacity and Override Capacity, New BedfordMassachusetts Department of Revenue. Fiscal 2026 levy $159,616,433, levy limit $171,896,997, excess capacity $12,280,564; no fiscal 2027 figures listed. Downloaded by SC360 Nov. 2, 2026.
- Massachusetts Division of Local Services: Average Single Family Tax Bill, New BedfordMassachusetts Department of Revenue. Fiscal 2026 average single-family value $424,920 and bill $4,653; fiscal 2025 bill $4,492. Downloaded by SC360 Nov. 2, 2026.
- Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 58, Section 1A (minimum residential factor)Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Cap of 175% of a class's share of value. Read Nov. 5, 2026.
- Mayor Jon Mitchell, Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Address, remarks as prepared (Wednesday, May 13, 2026)City of New Bedford. "We will need to use all of it this year," on excess levy capacity. Read Nov. 2, 2026.
- New Bedford City Council special meeting agenda, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 (fiscal 2026 tax classification hearing)City of New Bedford. 6 p.m. hearing; legal ad published Nov. 4, 2025; order adopting minimum residential factor. Read Nov. 2, 2026.
- New Bedford City Council meetings calendar (Granicus)City of New Bedford. Upcoming: City Council Nov. 12, 7 p.m.; Special City Council Meeting Nov. 24, 6 p.m., no agenda; City Council Nov. 24, 7 p.m. Read Nov. 5, 2026.