MOUNT VERNON – Selectmen are recommending spending $120,000 on a revaluation of the town. Voters will have their say about the matter at a special town meeting tonight.
The last time a valuation was conducted here was 1992. The town’s current property valuation is at 68.19 percent, according to Selectmen Chairman Bruce Inch on Monday.
Selectmen opted to recommend the most expensive of three bids in order to get the most expedient revaluation done, according to Inch. RJD Appraisals of Pittsfield asked $89,000 for the job, but wouldn’t be able to complete it until April 2007. William E. Van Tuinen Tax Assessors of Madison bid $104,000, with a completion date of June 2008. Cole-Layer-Trumble of Tolland, Conn., would be able to complete the revaluation by August 2006 at a cost of $113,800.
According to Inch, selectmen feel the town needs the revaluation done soon and chose the Connecticut firm for several reasons: to satisfy a state mandate regarding valuation; the high quality presentation from the firm; positive recommendations from other towns that have used them, including Portland and Lewiston; and significantly low values of shorefront properties causing an unfair imbalance. Also, if the revaluation is done next summer, the 2006 tax bills would reflect the new property values, Inch said.
The warrant article asks townspeople to allow selectmen to spend up to $120,000, including $10,000 from a revaluation reserve account, to cover the revaluation, including:
• $113,800 for the assessor’s bill
• $4,500 for real estate software
• $650 for real estate sketching software
• $250 for license fees for the software
• $1,000 for associated legal fees.
Selectmen would borrow the money through bonding or a from commercial bank, whichever provides the best deal, Inch said.
Also on the warrant are articles asking voters:
• To appropriate $2,600 from surplus to provide matching funds for a $28,560 grant for a new radio system for the Fire Department.
• To approve increasing the transfer station/recycling coordinator’s pay to $14 hourly and the transfer station assistant’s pay to $11 hourly.
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