PARIS — The town intends to contract with an independent assessor for a townwide property revaluation, in an effort to correct mistakes made from the last revaluation seven years ago. 

The town has been saving money in a reserve account since 2009 and has $200,000 for the revaluation, according to Town Manager Amy Bernard.

“This was requested several years ago because there were a lot of concerns about the last revaluation,” she said.

Assessor Gerald Samson said the results of the town’s last property valuation are “tipped upside down.”

“Land values are double what they should be for house lots, but buildings are less than they’re supposed to be,” he said. “Nothing seems to be accurate.”

The purpose of the revaluation is to fix those discrepancies and residents may see their property taxes increase, decrease, or stay the same based on their specific situation, Samson said. 

“Especially for people with a mobile home on a piece of land, they will benefit because the majority of the value is in the land and it shouldn’t be,” he said. 

Bernard said a request for proposals has been vetted by the town’s attorney and should be sent to three to five vendors by next week and advertise the request publicly.

Bernard hopes to have vendor responses within three weeks. The town is asking for an April 1, 2015, deadline for completion of the revaluation, she said. 

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