BARRE TOWN — It took the better part of an hour, but the Select Board set two tax rate that are heading in different directions this week.

The tax rate for residential property is up a little less than a penny — from $2.1497 to $2.1583 per $100 of assessed property value, while the nonresidential rate is down about a penny and a half — from $2.4803 to $2.4645 per $100 of assessed property value.

According to Town Manager Carl Rogers, both rates are based on the board’s decision to use $65,000 in cash reserves as a source of revenue. That decision, which dominated discussion during Monday’s special board meeting, shaved roughly a penny from both rates, he said.

Using reserve funds to reduce the tax rate is not new, according to Rogers, who said $50,000 in surplus money was used in setting the tax rate for the fiscal year that ended a few days ago.

Rogers said the town has roughly $600,000 in various cash reserves and it would have taken $50,400 to level fund the municipal portion of the tax rate this year.

Rogers said board Chairman Jeff Blow opposed the $65,000 figure because it masked a portion of the increase in the residential rate required to fund local schools.

The so-called homestead rate is $1.3014 — a 1.1 cent increase this year — while the education rate for nonresidential properties is $1.6076 — a reduction of 1.34 cents.

According to Rogers, the municipal portion of the tax rate — the amount needed to cover day-to-day operations of the town, maintaining local highways and honoring all local agreements — is 85.69 cents. That, he said, reflects a reduction of about 0.25 cents.