PARIS – The fire station’s meeting room was filled Thursday as residents came to voice their concerns over new valuations and tax bills.

Mike Rogers from the Property Tax Division of Maine Revenue Services, interim assessor Carole Kelley, Town Manager Sharon Jackson and Selectmen Raymond Glover and David Ivey were present.

Residents showed frustration and anger over a recent revaluation by assessor Kevin McGillicuddy, who resigned after increasing the value of the town by almost $83 million. McGillicuddy said the move was aimed at restoring the ratio between assessed and market values, and preserving state exemptions.

Rogers said there is a nationwide trend of residential inflation and tax shifts to waterfront and altitude properties. He said the goal of a revaluation is to create equalization among properties. He said assessments are considered legal if they are consistent with market value and similar properties.

“Simply because your taxes went up 30 to 50 to 100 percent, it doesn’t mean you were assessed unjustly,” Rogers said.

Jackson said the values were averaging in the right places and there was no inequity in the values.

“We can’t say this is an illegal assessment,” she said.

Jackson said the town is divided into about 20 neighborhoods, each of which has a land schedule for the standard assessment of an acre. The assessment per acre is the same in each neighborhood, and there is a proportional increase for additional acreage.

“There’s always controversy over where someone delineates one neighborhood from another neighborhood,” Rogers said.

Jackson said mitigating factors make comparison between different properties difficult, and Rogers concurred.

“In a meeting this large, we should stay away from specifics,” he said.

However, several residents protested heavy increases in their valuations and tax bills.

Sylvia Kessell said her taxes went up $700 for small repairs.

“I am able to live month to month,” she said. “I just want to be able to pay my bill.”

Rogers said assistance is available through the property tax and rent refund program, which he called one of the “most underutilized programs” in the state. Kessell replied that the suggestion was “humiliating” to her, a sentiment echoed by other residents.

Some residents criticized McGillicuddy as being evasive and unfair in his assessment practices.

“Mr. McGillicuddy’s reputation preceded him very clearly in other towns,” said resident Lorraine Lambert, receiving a round of applause as she criticized the selectmen for hiring him.

Officials agreed that McGillicuddy should have better informed the town about the revaluation.

“I don’t think it went through those channels,” Rogers said. “This is what brings us here.”

“There was no notification,” Jackson said. “There should have been.”

Rogers said the only avenue open to residents who think they have been assessed unfairly is to apply for an abatement. He said invalidating the tax bill would not please residents whose taxes went down due to the revaluation. He estimated that an equal or larger number of those residents chose not to attend the meeting.

Some residents complained that they had not had luck with the abatement process.

“I quite honestly don’t think we’re going to get anywhere tonight,” said resident Chrissy Dillingham.

Rogers said the process was to “protect the town’s revenue” so that claims of unfair assessment are backed up by evidence.