NORTH ADAMS — The city’s tax rate decreased from 2025, but homeowners will see a 3.4 percent increase in their property tax bill in fiscal year 2026.

After a presentation from city Assessor Ciera Dowling, the City Council on Tuesday night adopted the recommended tax rate of $15.97 per $1,000 of valuation for residential properties and $33.40 for commercial/industrial properties.

The tax rate went down compared to last year, but assessed property values were increased to reflect current market value.

The owner of an average single-family home valued at $243,822 will pay about $3,893 next year, an increase of about $126.

North Adams will keep the same 1.715 shift, which means commercial properties will continue to pay a higher share of the tax burden. A shift decreases what homeowners would pay under a single tax rate if every property was taxed the same.

Total commercial property value added $8,734 of growth, residential properties added $49,503 of growth, and the personal property category added $440,969. Citywide, the total revenue gained from taxes climbed $499,206.

Some councilors expressed dissatisfaction with the commercial property rate.

“I appreciate the slight shift but our commercial rate is twice as much as residential,” said Councilor Keith Bona. “The commercial rate is still double residential and a big majority of the increase is in residential.”

Bona pointed out that residential values increased by roughly 45 percent while commercial values increased by about 13 percent. Councilor Andrew Fitch agreed it was something to think about.

“The high commercial [rate] is what is concerning to me,” Fitch said. “I don't see it holding us back; it just doesn't have a good look if we want to expand the commercial factor. I think we should look at that in the future. I am not suggesting a rate switch right now, but we should do something about that in the long run.”

Fitch noted that the city had the fourth-highest commercial tax rate in the state and 28th-highest in terms of residential tax rate.

North Adams’ total property valuation rose over $100 million, or 9.6 percent, for a total valuation of $1,198,966,966.

Dowling said the city’s 363 tax exempt parcels had an estimated value of $306 million. A large part of this includes city infrastructure like schools and city buildings. Councilor Peter Breen asked how much of that value was left after taking out city property, but Dowling did not have that number. She said she could provide it at a later date.

Dowling also answered the common question of why the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art does not pay taxes. She said it earns its tax exempt status from showing documentation of being a cultural institution, one of the categories that qualify for exemptions.

She also noted that while Mass MoCA is exempt, any time it leases any of its spaces to nonexempt entities, those spaces become taxable. Those tenants then pay real estate taxes on the leased space and are subject to taxes on personal property associated with the business. In fiscal 2025, $43,437 was assessed to tenants for real estate and personal property.

Councilor Ashley Shade asked if the new $65 million Greylock School project would factor into the coming year’s tax bills.

Dowling said that it would not factor into 2026 tax bills and that fiscal year 2027 is when residents will see that added to their bill.