South Boston residents will pay a higher real estate tax rate next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
South Boston Town Council voted 4-1 in favor of the real estate tax hike, boosting the tax rate 6 cents higher.
The current rate is 21 cents per $100 of assessed home value. Now, it will jump to 27 cents per $100 of assessed value.
That means the tax on a home valued at $100,000 will jump from $210 to $270.
Town Manager Tom Raab says it's needed.
"We need to adjust our salaries for our police officers, our public works, everybody in town with inflation where it is," he said.
The starting salary for a South Boston police officer is $40,000. With the tax hike, Raab says they can pay them $5,000 more.
"We've got to stay competitive, and if you are not, they are going to go where more money is," he said.
One resident admits he's not sure how much he pays in real estate tax, but he says the increase will make it even harder to make ends meet as he's already living paycheck to paycheck.
"I don't really know," said Anthony Martin. "I can tell you this: Any kind of raise whatsoever in taxes, it's not feasible at the current moment in time."
Raab points to the inflation period as the driving force behind the tax hike.
He said it's a catch-22 with rising prices putting a strain on everyone's bank accounts.
"We are the same as everybody else. We don't want to increase, but I guess we would have to decide if we didn't increase, we have to cut back services," Raab said.