Eastport residents to receive revised property valuations

The municipal revaluation of property in Eastport has been completed and is ready to move forward to the next step, the notification to property owners of the new assessed values of land and buildings. The total city valuation has not been finalized but is expected to increase from $58.9 million to about $110 million.

City Assessor Robert Scott says some errors may have occurred during the revaluation process, so the city will mail out at the beginning of March a letter to each taxpayer with the old and new valuation figures and a mock tax bill, allowing time for taxpayers to check for any possible errors. The assessors then will be available during the week of March 19 through 23 to speak with individual property owners who request an appointment. Taxpayers will be able to view their property profile and learn how Maine Revenue Services compares the city's real estate valuation with the price that real estate sold for on the island. Using this comparison, the city is assigned a certified ratio. In the 1990s, this ratio was 100%, but recently, because of the increase in sales values of properties, the ratio has slipped to 69%.

Scott says that the revaluation process, although long and complicated, was overdue. The municipality will now be able to internally meet state requirements for valuation adjustments without requiring complicated external assessments.

City Manager George Finch points out that an increase in one's property valuation will not necessarily result in an increase in one's tax bill, as the revaluation affects other parts of the municipal budget. The mill rate is established by dividing the total city budget by the municipal valuation. Following a revaluation, the mill rate typically falls, often quite significantly for municipalities that have not had a revaluation for a number of years but have had a dramatic increase in real estate sales values. In addition, the state homestead exemption will increase for Eastport residents who qualify for the exemption from 69%, or $9,009, to the full value of $13,000. The veteran's exemption also will increase by the same percentage.

"While the actual mill rate will not be determined until the budget is complete, the current numbers based on the fiscal year 2007 budget show about half the homes with taxes going up and the other half going down, with about two-thirds of the properties falling in the range of plus or minus $300 on the bottom line," says Finch. "The most significant changes to be noted in the revaluation will be in two areas of comparison, one being the rising sales costs of property on the waterfront and the other being properties in comparable neighborhoods where similar homes have sold for far more than the historical market value in the area."

The revaluation, which will be completed before the city budget is approved later this spring, is expected to decrease the tax rate from the present 36 mills, which is the highest rate in the state, to a rate around 18 mills, since the valuation will change from 49% of the state valuation for this coming year to 100%. At the February 12 city council meeting, Finch stated that the revaluation should create concerns for only 2% to 3% of the properties, which are new waterfront homes. "Waterfront property is going to take the hit. It's market-driven."

The loss of manufacturing industry in the city, including Gates Fiber Extrusion plant and aquaculture pens, has caused residential property to bear more of the tax burden, but Finch pointed to possible rays of hope for more local industry, including possibly Cooke Aquaculture re-starting its processing plant and a housing project proposal by the Passamaquoddy Tribe for the Gates plant.