DEERFIELD — As budget season begins to ramp up, Deerfield residents got a financial refresher Thursday evening at the first of several community conversations.

Finance Committee Chair Julie Chalfant delivered a presentation, with assistance from Town Accountant Brenda Hill and Select Board members, laying out the budget planning process and where residents’ tax money goes, as well as how debt exclusions and Proposition 2½ work.

With tax bills always at the top of residents’ minds — especially in 2024’s annual town election — Chalfant explained that even if the town’s tax rate goes down, rising property value assessments, which are often out of the town’s control, can still rise.

“We do our municipal budget; we are limited to that 2.5% increase and we take that total money and we divide by the total assessed value in town and that’s how much is paid. If the total property assessment in the town goes up, the tax rate goes down,” Chalfant said, adding that the tax rate has decreased in Deerfield over the last few years. “That tax rate went down, [but] money out of your pocket did not go down, right? That’s because your assessment went up.”

Deerfield’s fiscal year 2025 tax rate was set at $13.25 per $1,000 valuation, a 4% decrease from FY24. The town’s tax rate has continually decreased since 2022, but residents’ bills continue to rise, as assessments rose by approximately 9%, according to information shared by Board of Assessors member Francis “Skip” Sobieski at December’s tax rate hearing. The average single-family home’s tax bill is expected to rise to about $5,901, which is an approximately $240 increase from FY24.

Select Board Chair Tim Hilchey added that new growth is also a contributing factor to decreasing tax bills. Large industrial companies moving to town, like NUPRO LLC, a polyurethane manufacturer, several years ago, or the development of housing, such as Sugarloaf Estates, can take the burden off residents.

“New growth is one of the things we occasionally get, and valuations went down in 2022 or ‘21, when Sugarloaf Estates was starting to come onto the tax rolls, 75 new houses,” Hilchey said. “The tax rate went down and valuations went up, but many people got reductions in tax for one or two years. Unfortunately, we don’t have that type of growth frequently and everything goes up every year, of course.”

In laying out the FY25 budget, Chalfant highlighted where Deerfield’s budget money goes, with education accounting for 63% of the budget. The town pays for Deerfield Elementary School and assessments to Frontier Regional School and Franklin County Technical School.

Tax revenue primarily comes from residential tax dollars, 76%, while commercial/industrial/personal property makes up the remaining amount. Other revenue comes from vehicle excise and meals taxes, permit fees, payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements, state aid and free cash.

While the town does rely on grants for a variety of programs, those are not included in the budget because they are not guaranteed.

Thursday’s community conversation was organized by Engage: Deerfield, a new group founded by residents attempting to inform folks and increase public participation in Deerfield. A second conversation, “Putting Us in the Campus: Walkability, Culture, Community,” which will focus on the town’s ongoing municipal campus projects, is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 27.

As Deerfield’s FY26 budget continues to be drafted, Chalfant invited folks to come to board meetings as well as Annual Town Meeting to make their voices heard if they have concerns or thoughts.

“If you have opinions, come to Finance Committee meetings, come to Selectboard meetings, write us emails, let us know what you’re thinking,” she said. “Otherwise we just operate on what we know and think.”

Thursday’s discussion was recorded by Frontier Community Access Television and will be available in the coming days on its YouTube page at youtube.com/@FCATMedia.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.