NORWAY – With two of three assessment pieces completed, Jodi Keniston is unsure how the mill rate will be impacted.

“I’m praying it goes down,” the town assessor said on Tuesday.

Usually when valuation goes up the mill rate drops, but that may not be the case for 2004.

Keniston has completed assessing land and personal property in Norway, which are about 35 percent of the total assessments.

Land value is up, due in part to new subdivisions, which Keniston said increase the value.

Personal property, which includes business equipment, is down.

Keniston said the loss of C.B. Cummings and lack of new purchases by many businesses were responsible for a reduction of $1.77 million in assessed value.

She said there has been a real slowdown in manufacturing and that existing businesses were not investing in new equipment. Also, the equipment they had was reduced in value by depreciation.

Keniston said New Balance Athletic Shoe, Grover Gundrilling Inc. and Northeast Tool & Die Inc. own most of the manufacturing equipment in Norway. But the loss won’t have a huge impact on the mill rate.

Buildings account for the bulk of the valuation and Keniston said she knows they will be going up from a recent valuation she has nearly completed.

Keniston estimated that building valuations will go up about 20 percent.

For the 2003 tax year personal property was valued at $11.42 million, land was assessed at $73.24 million, and buildings accounted for $161.63 million.

Keniston said she won’t have the final numbers until early September.

“I have them ready by September to do the tax bills,” Keniston said “They’re sent out the third week in September.”

Keniston said Norway has always been at 100 percent of market value in accordance with state compilations.

She said the state does sales ratio study and last year the town was down 20 percent.

“The valuation will go up on real estate,” Keniston said. “What that means to the mill rate is the question.”

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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