NEW GLOUCESTER – Tax bills arriving in mailboxes this week were cause for both celebration and alarm. Some went down as much as 30 percent, while others went up as much as 43 percent.

The reason for the shift was a townwide property revaluation, the first since 1990, said town assessor Nancy Pinette.

Taxes increased “quite a bit” in some areas, such as lakeside and the old village area of 1700s Federal-style homes, but went down in other areas, Pinette said. A revaluation typically creates tax increases for about one-third of taxpayers, decreases for another third and no change for the others, she said.

“About one-third are not too happy,” she said.

The revaluation also affected the town’s tax rate, which dropped from $18.68 per $1,000 of valuation to $11.55. That is because there is more taxable value, a 60 percent increase since 1990, Pinette said.

“It’s based on market value, and real estate prices are creeping up here, just like everywhere else,” she said.