Assessing agents will visit properties in town through December.
LIVERMORE – Assessing agents are visiting homes throughout town to make sure properties are assessed fairly. Property values on waterfront properties are expected to increase when the revaluation is completed.
The town recently contracted with John E. O’Donnell & Associates of New Gloucester to complete an equalization program, Livermore Administrative Assistant Kurt Schaub said. The contract was for $90,000. Voters allocated $45,000 last year and the same this year to pay for the program. The town recently sold two tax-acquired properties and will use $46,000 of that money to offset tax dollars needed to pay for revaluation.
Assessing agents will visit properties in town through December. Agents with O’Donnell will carry identification and will notify the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department of their actions. Agents started visiting seasonal camps Tuesday.
A number of properties have not been visited since 1988, Schaub said, which is unfair to people who have had assessors at their house to revalue property within the last few years.
“Most likely we’ll see the greatest increase on waterfront property and probably less of an increase on farm property,” he said.
Some properties will increase, some will decrease and some will stay the same in assessed value, Schaub said.
The town’s tax billing is based on about $97.2 million, he said, yet the state values the town at $113 million.
“What will probably happen when it’s all said and done is our valuation will probably come closer to the state’s number,” he said. “The reason for that is not to collect more taxes but it will give us the foundation we need to deal with the state number. This is important because state valuation is what determines for example our local education assessment and our county tax.”
The obvious outcome is that most likely there will be a reduction in the mill rate, also known as the tax rate, and the town will hopefully see an adjustment in the county tax rate and SAD 36 assessment, Schaub said.
Last year’s tax rate was $19.50 per $1,000 of valuation and is expected to stay the same this year, he said. Revaluation figures would not go into effect until September 2004.
“The phenomenon that we noticed here is the values of waterfront property are going up significantly higher than non-waterfront properties,” he said. “It is not uncommon for us to see real estate transfers come through for $120,000-plus on properties where our assessment is $60,000.”
When agents visit properties, they’ll most likely ask to come into a home and have a look around. They will also take measurements, he said.
“But I will caution people, if they’re not comfortable with ID provided,” he said. “They can contact the Town Office (897-3207) or Sheriff’s Office (1-800-287-1458) which has a list of who assessors are and a description of the vehicles they will be driving.”
People will receive in the mail notification of preliminary valuation and will have an opportunity to meet the assessor prior to the tax rate being set.
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