Southwick Assessors Cancel Master Plan Business Incentive Item, Citing State Law Limits

SOUTHWICK — March 23, 2026 — Southwick Board of Assessors votes to cancel master plan business tax incentive item. The board, meeting Monday in Conference Room 2, unanimously accepted and then canceled master plan action item 2.6, which had directed the creation of a tax incentive program for existing businesses; Director of Assessing Randall Austin told members that Massachusetts General Laws leave no mechanism for such a program beyond the small commercial exemption and Tax Increment Financing agreements, both already available. Austin said he would communicate the reasoning in writing to the town planner and described a forthcoming effort to establish a formal, written TIF policy for new and expanding businesses, to be developed with the town manager and planner. The board also discussed a town-wide property data collection and revaluation project estimated at roughly $150,000 over two years, to be funded from prior-year overlay reserves without a new appropriation, after two residents during public comment independently raised concerns about inconsistent depreciation standards and the accuracy of assessed values across Southwick properties.