Wayland Select Board maintains single tax rate for fiscal 2026

WAYLAND — November 17, 2025 — Wayland holds the line at a single tax rate as values jump 7.78 percent. The Select Board voted 4-0 Monday to keep a uniform fiscal 2026 rate of $14.83 per $1,000 — down 80 cents from last year — and rejected both residential and small commercial exemptions. Director of Assessing Rob LaRue reported the average single-family home now assesses at $1.23 million, pushing the average tax bill to roughly $18,226, an increase of about $405. New growth came in at $934,000, a 67 percent jump that Finance Director Brian Keveney said will yield about $300,000 in additional fiscal 2027 levy capacity. The board also approved a new $125 public hearing fee, tabled a Middlesex Chiefs mutual aid agreement over First Amendment concerns raised by member William Whitney, and pushed a vote on $38 million in MWRA financing to December. Chair Carol B. Martin noted Wayland's commercial base sits below 3 percent, making a split rate untenable.