AUBURN – Mayor John Jenkins’ ideas for revamping Maine’s property taxes could be ready for public scrutiny in the next few weeks.

Jenkins summarized his plans hurriedly during the City Council’s meeting last week and said he’s prepared to talk about tonight – if it comes up.

“It’s a citizens’ forum, and we’re there to talk about anything they want,” he said. “So, it’s up to them. If they want to talk about it, they will.”

The meeting with Ward 3 residents, city councilors and staff begins at 7 p.m. in the Auburn Public Library.

He’s also meeting with citizens and city assessors honing his ideas, and with Auburn’s state legislators selling them.

City assessors are building financial models of his ideas, and Jenkins said he hopes to schedule a workshop with the City Council in coming weeks.

“I want to be able to show people just what they’d pay, so they can evaluate it fairly,” he said.

Much of his plan would rely on changes at the state level – specifically, altering the way cities figure property values.

“So it won’t happen this tax year, we know, unless something truly phenomenal happens,” he said. “But it gives people hope about where we’re going, that things will get better. And that’s what we’re shooting for right now.”

Cities figure property values based on the amount of what a home sells for on the open market.

“Under my plan, fair market value would only be a part of it, or a percent, instead of all of it,” he said.

He’d set up three standards for valuing real estate property: acreage, use, environmental impact.

“We are trying to stabilize things for taxpayers,” he said. “The size of their lot, that won’t change. If the way they use it doesn’t change, their taxes won’t either. So they have an idea, year-to-year, about what their taxes will be.”

The final step would be to have a budget-adjustment factor that is tied to market values. He’d try to limit that, however, with a municipal spending cap tied to inflation.

Jenkins is also asking to legislators to let cities levy taxes when a property sells – making it a gains tax.

“Right now, if you improve your home, we reward you by charging you more taxes,” he said. “We could change it so you don’t pay that increased value from your work until you sell.”