JAY – Selectmen set the new tax rate at $15.80 Tuesday, the same as last year, but some residents could still see an increase in their tax bills.

And for the first time, the value of the town has climbed to more than $1 billion, which includes $275.35 million in real estate valuation and $715.8 million in personal property valuation.

Town Manager Ruth Marden, assessor Paul Binette and Treasurer Linda Brundage recommended that selectmen keep the rate at $15.80 per $1,000 of valuation. Selectmen could have raised the rate to a maximum $16.33 or decreased it to a minimum of $15.55.

Earlier this year selectmen voted to remove a 10 percent economic reduction on residential buildings located outside the Chisholm area that was applied during the equalization program or revaluation in 1997.

The move allowed the town to certify that all personal property values, tree growth values and exemptions are at the 100 percent ratio. To certify the ratio, they had to adjust assessments to better reflect 100 percent fair market value.

A market study in Jay showed that the Chisholm area is just about at 100 percent market value on the average. The remainder of the town had shown an increase in market value, thus dropping the average ratio.

The outcome of the 10 percent reduction removal was on average, roughly a 10 percent building value increase in non-commercial/industrial properties located outside of Chisholm. Land assessments will not change.

“Due to low interest rates, sale prices have risen,” Binette said. “They have risen so that our assessed values, which were created in 1997, are on average about 10 percent lower than the sales prices on improved properties.”

Assessors have adjusted building values on improved properties to maintain a 100 percent average ratio, Binette said.

“If we didn’t maintain 100 percent and dropped to 90 percent,” he said, “we would only be able to assess personal property at 90 percent, which would be a loss in total value to the town of about $71 million.”

The removal of the economic factor on residential buildings outside Chisholm means that a house valued at $45,000 last year could now be valued at about $49,500. The tax impact on this property would be about $71 more than 2002. The tax bill would increase from $711 last year, to about $782 in 2003, not factoring in the homestead exemption.

The town was also able to use $245,406 as overlay. Selectmen opted against putting the maximum of $778,461 in overlay.

Marden said the money would be put into the town’s general fund in case the state does away with personal property taxes. Plus, the money would help replenish the undesignated fund account that taxpayers voted to take about $900,000 out of this year to pay teachers money owned them at the end of the fiscal year.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link