Oxford residents, including uniformed Police Chief Rickie Jack, listen Thursday during the Board of Selectmen meeting at the Town Office. Residents were anxious to learn the rationale for new assessments of their properties from a townwide revaluation. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat
OXFORD — Town Manager Adam Garland said he has been assured by the company conducting a townwide property revaluation that it will further review assessments to ensure they are accurate.
Selectperson Sharon Jackson said at Thursday night’s board meeting that she saw some inconsistencies on her property revaluations. She urged all homeowners to closely review their communications from KRT Appraisal and take appropriate steps if they see inaccuracies.
More than 15 residents attended the meeting to discuss the appraisals, some of which have risen as much as 400%.
Trish Larrivee, a resident of Pottle Road, said when she called the Haverhill, Massachusetts, company to get information about her assessment increasing close to $110,000, the person she spoke with referred her to the website where reports are organized by tax district, property owner and address, and referred her to properties in town that sold between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
About 2,700 properties are listed on KRT’s appraisal report, which is found on its website: https://www.krtappraisal.com/dist/oxford.html.
The overall revaluation project is set to be completed by Aug. 28.
Selectmen will review the data before setting a new tax rate next month.
“Our selectmen/Board of Assessors have been contacted by constituents who have voiced concern about assessments,” Garland said in an email Thursday. “I, along with the chairman of the Board of Assessors, met with KRT to review these concerns. KRT has assured us that they will take further review to ensure accuracy.”
About 2,700 properties are listed on KRT’s appraisal report.
Close to 1,000 Oxford homeowners have claimed the $25,000 homestead exemption, according to Oxford’s 2021 commitment book. One hundred and thirty-two residents receive a $6,000 veteran’s exemption.
Oxford’s property tax commitment data from 2019-2021 can be accessed on the town’s website: https://www.oxfordmaine.org/town-clerk/property-taxes/pages/real-estate-tax-commitments.
Another issue before the board Thursday was whether Oxford should continue its in-person annual town meeting or have voters cast ballots on the warrant articles at the polls.
At the Aug. 7 board meeting when it was first discussed, Garland suggested holding a nonbinding vote during November elections to gauge residents’ preferences. He was asked him to prepare a sample ballot and find out how the change has worked in other communities.
Selectpersons Caldwell Jackson and Sharon Jackson said they oppose any change.
Selectmen Floyd Thayer said it is important to get more voters involved with making decisions about the town’s $5 million annual budget.
“Nobody shows up at town meeting,” he said. “This might not float anyway, people may or might not like it. But it appears to me that if we throw it out there and people don’t like it, at least we tried to do something to get more people involved.”
Caldwell Jackson said those who attend the annual town meeting are those who should have the final say on budgets and ordinances. He said if a contingent of residents took issue with a certain department or official they could organize their friends to vote measures down without having to stand up in public to state their reasons.
He also pointed out that many towns that have switched to voting at the polls end up returning to an in-person annual town meeting.
“I don’t support the voting on the budget and other town meeting items on a ballot,” Sharon Jackson said. “Therefore, I don’t support putting this (question) on a ballot because I support keeping the form of government that we have.”
Vice Chairman Scott Hunter echoed Thayer’s proposal to give voters the chance to express their preference.
Chairman Dana Dillingham offered a compromise.
“I would like this done during a town meeting and not at the ballot box,” he said. “If anyone wants to put it out for a vote during town meeting, the people who attend will decide if we continue with town meeting or go to referendum.”
All five board members voted to place the question on the 2024 annual town meeting warrant.
In other business, selectmen approved a mass gathering application for the Oxford County Agricultural Society to hold a benefit yard sale Aug. 26 at the fairgrounds on Pottle Road.
Selectmen also talked about traffic congestion on Route 26 due to ongoing Maine Department of Transportation repairs stretching from near Skeetfield Road north into Norway.
Sharon Jackson asked if it will affect school bus schedules and whether the work times could be adjusted.
Police Chief Rickie Jack said MDOT will not work Aug. 25-27 during the Oxford 250 race or Sept. 13-17 during the Oxford County Fair.
Garland said he would contact MDOT about its schedule.
Caldwell Jackson said he would do the same as representative for House District 80.
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