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BoringAccountName78 OP t1_j40qabl wrote

Reply to comment by heklakatla in How does the governmental structure and services work if you have an incorporated village within a town, like Bellows Falls in Rockingham? by BoringAccountName78

I was looking at that before. But then I noticed they had a Bellows Falls Police Dept. Does Rockingham have a separate police force from Bellows Falls? Does BF have its own government?

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3vknight4 t1_j419gi9 wrote

Typically an incorporated village area will be subject to both the village and town government. Many town and villages have worked out agreements to share services.

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Dawsinian t1_j41it6r wrote

BFPD only serves the Village of Bellows Falls and is funded by taxes levied on Village property owners. The same goes for other village services, such as the fire department and water/sewer departments. All of these services are technically managed through the elected village trustees.

Rockingham has another village, Saxton’s River, and just like Bellows Falls, they have their own village services paid for by village property owners and managed by the elected village trustees.

The rest of Rockingham outside of the two villages is considered “rural Rockingham” and any services provided to them are funded by general town property taxes, which are paid by every town property owner, including those in Bellows Falls and Saxtons River. The Town Selectboard manages these services.

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Fien16 t1_j41pwoa wrote

My family was so angry when they moved the barracks to near exit 5 cause of how westmonster and bf had their own departments and living out by the country store means any response would be that much longer.

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BoringAccountName78 OP t1_j43skdu wrote

So the property tax dollars in Bellows falls get split between BF and the rest of Rockingham?

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Dawsinian t1_j44xwip wrote

They are separate taxes. Say, for instance, the Town of Rockingham's tax rate is $1.50 and the Village of Bellows Falls' tax rate is $1, then a homeowner in Bellows Falls would pay $1.50 for every $1000 their home is valued at for taxes to the Town of Rockingham, and then an additional $1 for every $1000 their home is valued at to the Village of Bellows Falls. A homeowner in Rockingham but outside of Bellows Falls or Saxton's River only pays the $1.50 per $1000 tax rate.

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BoringAccountName78 OP t1_j457sdu wrote

Oh wow. So if you live in one of the villages, your tax bill would be a higher percentage of your house's worth than if you just lived within the town?

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Rich_Swing_1287 t1_j46nntv wrote

It depends. When I was looking at houses in the Rockingham area, one of the places I looked at outside the village had double the taxes of a similar square footage house within the village. There were probably a number of reasons why, such as more acreage, the view tax, etc.

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Dawsinian t1_j47ag20 wrote

Yes, but those taxes are going towards additional services you wouldn’t get if you lived in rural Rockingham, like a full time police department or a water/sewer department. On the other hand, property values are probably higher outside of the villages because the houses are bigger and have more land.

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BoringAccountName78 OP t1_j49f4fl wrote

Thanks. You've been very helpful.

In Massachusetts, we have "villages" but they're never incorporated so they're always part of the town they're in. That's why I found VT a little confusing.

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