By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

AUBURN – The city’s new estimate of her home’s value has Virginia Adams wondering if it’s a good time to put it on the market.

“I was thinking about it before, but this may do it,” said Adams, of 1089 Minot Ave. She was among the 7,000 property owners to get new assessed values in the mail Saturday.

She’s one of many worried about what the new values will mean for her property tax bill in 2006. Based on the city’s calculations, she would pay $5,441, up from $2,300 in 2005.

“That place is too big for me; I know it,” Adams said. “So, I was thinking about selling it. This may make up my mind for me. I don’t know what else I’m going to do.”

Other Auburn residents who were out and about on Monday expressed shock over the amount of taxes they are estimated to pay as part of a revaluation, the first done since 1990.

Tamra Hartley, of 1 Roosevelt Ave., said her 2006 tax bill was estimated at $3,480, which would be at least 50 percent higher than it had been.

“My guess is the city was pretty much prepared for bomb threats this morning,” Hartley said.

There were no threats, but business in the assessor’s office was brisk on Monday, said City Assessor Cheryl Dubois. Her staff of six spent most of the day on the telephone answering questions about assessments and scheduling hearings for the next month. Assessors will meet with taxpayers into December and then begin visiting properties again.

They’re scheduled to wrap up their work by April.

The mailing was not glitch-free, Dubois said. Both the “detached garage” and “attached garage” boxes were accidentally checked on every letter mailed. That made it look like even homes with no garage were being charged for two.

“It has no effect on the bottom line,” she said. “It was just a printing error.”

Everything else went as expected, she said. She had set aside Monday to answer questions and schedule hearings. She said she had scheduled 20 herself before lunchtime, while another assessor had scheduled four.

She was able to answer most questions right away, Dubois said.

But she couldn’t answer what will ultimately happen with the tax rate. The number used in the letter, $22 per $1,000 of property value, is expected come down by the time councilors begin reviewing their budget next spring.

The tax rate is based on home and real estate values only. It does not include values of new home construction, new businesses or personal property. Those won’t be set until April, Dubois said.

“So I don’t know where the taxes will be, but they should be much lower than they are,” she said. “It’s too early for that discussion yet.”