I find it funny how the usual cast of malcontents who always grumble about taxes in Westford are apparently struck silent by these facts....

Rates alone are not a great measure of comparison. No one complains about the rate, they complain about the dollars.

Chuck, I don't believe that's quite accurate. The rates are comparing the amount taxed per $1,000 of valuation (also called the millage rate) and it allows a fairly apple-to-apples comparison.

A house valued at $100,000 in Chelmsford is taxed at a higher rate than a $100,000 house in Westford. Period.

The valuations are set by the BOA but are generally in line with market values, or lag behind because of the gap in assessing property.

Yea, Westford residents have been cheap in that we demand top tier DCL schools but refuse to pay to fund them properly. Instead we like (can you blame us) paying for hamburger and getting Porterhouse?
Superintendent Olsen has been saying for years this is going to come back and start to bite us and I feel last year's turmoil was just the beginning. I have heard through the grapevine that SCChair Harkness plans the same tactics when negotiations start again next year (skip/delay step, no cost of living increase like other towns, play the can't give you what the town doesn't have card)

Mr Aardvark, $8400 in property taxes, cheap?

Generally speaking the majority of residents who can afford to live in $600k+ McMansions can afford the appropriate taxes ,which as the data shows is lower than our neighbors. No 8400 isn't cheap but the RATE is, time for a prop 2.5 override OR some school cuts (not additions!) I could see the financial logic in either. Maybe Mitt Romney can be our business director since the Presidential bid momentum turned sour?

Mr Chung King, You spoke with the true liberal wackiness everyone expects from most residents in this liberal wacko state (all while hiding behind a fake name). You wouldn't know a McMansion if you saw one, mine isn't, it is just overvalued to extract more blood and treasure from me. 2,5 override -> I DOUBT it!