By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — Since the new property tax bills began arriving in the mail, a steady stream of disgruntled residents have called or visited the Tax Assessor's office with questions or complaints.

While city officials acknowledge that, yes, taxes have indeed gone up under the new rate, they say that many frustrations have to do with a lack of understanding over the tax exemptions and the way they appear on tax bills.
The former residential property tax rate, prior to the revaluation, had been $12.39 per $1,000 of assessed value. To “equalize” the budget (generate the same amount of tax revenue needed), that rate would have had to be $16.13 per $1,000. When expenses for the new fiscal year were calculated, including contractual salary obligations and approximately $3 million for the school department's budget deficit from the last fiscal year, an increase of 8.2 percent was found to be needed to fund the new fiscal year's operating budget. This brought the residential rate up to $17.78 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.
When it comes to the various tax exemptions allowed for residents who are elderly, disabled, veterans, or living in a historical property, these amounts were “equalized” as well. While on paper the exemptions were reduced, in all categories the amount of actual tax dollars saved was greater than it was last year, according to Tax Assessor David Quinn. “The tax savings for exemptions went up. There is a lot of confusion about that.” He added that while the FY10 tax bills are most certainly higher than last year's, they would have been even higher without the exemptions. 
Finance Director Ronald Wunschel said that part of the confusion for taxpayers comes from the way the information is printed on the tax bills. While the amount of the exemption is shown, the dollar amount that it translates to is not. The exemption amount is simply subtracted from the amount of taxes owed.
For example, Wunschel pointed to a bill that contained a tax exemption for an elderly homeowner. Last year, for a home valued at $270,000 and a tax rate of $12.39 per $1,000, the actual tax bill would have amounted to $3,345.30 without the exemption. When the age exemption of $43,100 was figured in, this brought the net home value down to $226,900, with a tax bill of $2,811.29. The savings from the exemption amounted to $534.01, which did not appear anywhere on the tax bill.
This year, the same home was revalued at $207,900, and with the new tax rate of $17.78 per $1,000, the tax bill would have been $3,696.46 without the exemption. This year's age exemption has dropped to $35,400, bringing the net value down to $172,500, with a tax bill of $3,067.05. The savings with the age exemption was $629.41, which is $95.40 more than last year's.
“Yes, people are paying higher taxes, but the tax dollar savings from the exemption are actually more this year,” noted Wunschel. He noted that prior to about 12 years ago, the exemption for the elderly was a flat rate. He said that the Doyle administration had made an effort to increase the exemptions. Now, it is treated as a value that is calculated on the tax rate every time it is adjusted.
Tax Assessor David Quinn noted that in all of the exemption categories, the value in actual tax dollars saved is higher in the current fiscal year than in the last. As mentioned previously, the age exemption, which was $43,100 in FY09, saved $534.01 on the old residential tax rate of $12.39 per $1,000. The new equalized rate for the age exemption, now at $35,400 amounts to $629.41 in actual tax savings.
Likewise, the exemption for handicapped, P.O.W., or a total service veteran or veteran receiving special housing, which was $24,800 in FY09, yielded  a savings of $307.27 on the tax bill. While this exemption has now been changed to $19,100, the actual tax savings is $339.60--a value of $32.33 over the previous year.
Likewise, the exemptions for veteran/widow, gold star veteran, blind person, or someone in a historical property all show a lower rate on paper, but translate to greater savings when calculated under the new tax formula.
Quinn and Wunschel have both been busy in recent days trying to explain the new tax bills to residents. The upshot, they say, is that while property owners are facing higher tax bills, they are still getting some breaks even though this is not spelled out clearly under the current tax bill format. Wunschel said that, going forward, he intends to revise the tax bill show it shows the exemption savings more clearly.