Gil Pinard’s property taxes on his Auburn home grew from $4,400 to $6,000 in one year. When the state’s tax stabilization program ended, many seniors like Pinard saw two years’ worth of tax increases. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

AUBURN — When Gil Pinard opened his tax bill for the coming year, he quickly made a few decisions — one out of anger and one out of necessity.

The first was to erect a 4-by-8-foot sign outside his home on Stevens Mill Road calling city of Auburn property taxes “legal theft.” The second was a decision to begin working part-time again.

Pinard, 74, saw a 36% increase in his property tax bill this year due to a combination of local budget increases, higher assessed values and the lapsing of the state’s tax stabilization program. His bill went up $1,600, from about $4,400 to $6,000 in the two-year period.

“I was very angry,” he said. “The 2.6% increase in Social Security doesn’t cover a 36% increase in property taxes. So I went back to work this morning.”

Pinard was one of several residents — mostly seniors — who spoke at last week’s City Council meeting in Auburn, as well as at a recent public meeting detailing an upcoming citywide revaluation. Both Auburn and Lewiston — as well as communities across the state — are being forced to conduct revaluations due to home sales prices that have far eclipsed assessed values.

On Monday, residents didn’t shy away from sharing how much their bills have increased year over year: $600 in each of the last two years, 35%, and so on. Many had taken advantage of the Property Tax Stabilization Program that froze property taxes for seniors, but when that program was ended by the Legislature this year, one year after taking effect, two years’ worth of increases came due for those seniors. During that same time period, real estate values and local budgets increased.

Residents are urging municipalities to “tighten the purse strings,” but officials say their options are limited.

John Caron, who grew up in Lewiston and has lived there most of his life, said his taxes went up 26% in the two years.

“It’s just a sudden shock,” he said, adding that he worries for other seniors who may not be able to afford the increase. He knows the cost of doing business has gone up for municipalities, but he said residents are being asked to take on more taxes while also paying more for everyday things.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’

During the Auburn council meeting last week, one resident who enrolled in the tax stabilization program said his taxes went from $3,700 to $6,881 when he got this year’s bill. He was told to consult with staff, but it was suspected that the valuation of his multifamily property increased greatly in the same span that he utilized the tax stabilization program.

The Auburn assessing office and elected officials have argued that a revaluation is needed to bring a better balance across all property classes, including commercial and industrial. The city hasn’t conducted a full revaluation since 2007, but its certified ratio — essentially the state’s rating of how close Auburn’s assessments are to actual value — is currently 93% because of regular valuation adjustments based on real estate sales.

However, according to Mayor Jeff Harmon, those adjustments have had an outsized impact on single-family and multifamily property taxpayers.

“There’s been an unprecedented structural shift in the way that the burden of property tax is being paid,” he said.

Harmon said the assessor’s office gathers data to see if valuations are reflective of the current real estate market, and while there’s been enough info to firmly establish that the market has driven up the value of residential properties, there hasn’t been enough info to establish that for other property classes, such as businesses and industries. He believes a revaluation can do that.

During a presentation the same night, City Assessor Karen Scammon said that when property classes are not in balance, inequity exists.

“Someone is paying less than their fair share of taxes while someone else is paying more,” she said.

Harmon said he’s being asked a lot of questions due to the tax bills, coupled with the pending revaluation. He said everyone on the council “recognizes what’s going on and the need for some type of property tax relief.”

Scammon said the city is conducting several informational sessions and other outreach regarding the revaluation to make sure residents have the proper information.

“We just want everyone to understand the process so it’s not as scary as it sounds,” she said.

In Lewiston, the city has already conducted physical inspections of properties toward its revaluation and is now shifting to mailing out “data verification” notices. According to Chief Assessor William Healey, the mailers contain information from the city’s assessing database that is used to create a property assessment, and property owners will be asked to verify that the information for their property is correct.

Healey said he still expects the revaluation to be completed in 2026, with new valuations in place for the fiscal 2027 tax year.

For Lewiston, it’s been even longer since a full revaluation was done — 1988. At 54%, the city is now far below the 70% minimum certified ratio that the state allows, which drove the need for a revaluation. The ratio, which means the state believes Lewiston is assessing properties at 54% of their true assessed value, also means Lewiston taxpayers receive fewer exemptions, like the popular Homestead Exemption.

Instead of the potential $25,000 exemption, Lewiston taxpayers see $13,500 this year. A year ago, they received $18,250. Because Auburn’s ratio is 93%, the Homestead Exemption for those who qualify is $23,250.

Given Lewiston’s tax rate of $31.77 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, Healey also expects that rate to drop significantly after the revaluation. He declined to estimate what the city’s “full value” tax rate would be. When the state tax stabilization program went into effect, Lewiston seniors faced a tax rate of $28.50.

Healey said he’s definitely fielded “more calls and questions than usual this year,” and that it seems mostly tied to seniors who had their taxes stabilized last year.

‘WE CAN’T AFFORD IT ANYMORE’

The tax stabilization program was ended last year as part of a bipartisan budget deal that instead expanded other tax relief programs. Legislators said costs to the state were projected to skyrocket in the coming years and the stabilization program was criticized for providing the largest tax breaks to wealthy homeowners.

Pinard, who is back to work part time for Pamco Shoe where he works about four hours a day starting at 5 a.m., said the city has a “spend now, tax later” mentality. As local and state officials discuss ways to stem the tide of increased taxes, Pinard’s comments reflect an exasperated general public.

Earlier this year, voters in Lewiston shot down the annual school budget twice before finally passing it. Many said it was partly a protest vote — the only way for voters to truly show their displeasure with increased taxes.

Ronnie Paradis of Lewiston,who has been vocal during council meetings regarding taxes and other issues affecting fellow seniors, said she’d like to see city leaders get together with state and federal officials to “talk about what we can do.”

She said she voted for the school budget, but said, “we can’t afford it anymore.” She wants to see the state address “unfunded mandates” that have placed an extra burden on local school budgets, which are then passed onto taxpayers. Paradis’ taxes went up $600 this year after she had been enrolled in the stabilization program. She said she knows some seniors who saw $1,000 increases.

“There are people who just can’t afford the increases,” she said.

When reached this week, Mayor Carl Sheline said he’s been hearing from constituents about taxes, and that he hasn’t tried to “sugarcoat” things for them.

“People are concerned about their tax bills and I’m concerned too,” he said. “We did our level best to limit the tax increase this year, but it was difficult. We made several hard decisions as we crafted a budget to prepare our city for a successful future.”

Sheline referred specifically to a staff addition in economic development and funds for the department as the city tries to grow the tax base. He said due to automatic increases in staff salaries and the cost of services, “any meaningful cuts at this point would mean cutting staff and that would result in a reduction in services.”

“As we prepare for budget season next year, we need to find cost reductions where we can and work toward increasing the tax base through economic development,” he said.

In Auburn, Mayor Harmon said the council has tried to control municipal spending, which has increased an average of 3% over the last few years. This year the budget increase was roughly 5%, but he said because of valuation adjustments needed to keep pace with the market, property tax increases for many have been more like 10%.

He said while residents often call on elected officials to cut spending, there is “no way to hold the budget constant or reduce it without cutting services. It’s just not possible.”

“The biggest challenge facing Auburn is the structural shift in who bares the burden of paying the property tax levy,” he said. “To be clear, we have people who are struggling. This shift in the burden is really hard on some of our residents.”

Harmon said he’s hoping the Legislature will again discuss possible bills in the coming session, including possibly increasing school aid or the Homestead Exemption.

‘TOP OF THE ISSUES LIST’

When asked during the council discussion about new ways of controlling tax increases, Deputy Assessor Joseph St. Peter said there are “ideas out there, but not concrete ones yet.” He said the Homestead Exemption was designed to reel in property taxes, but he admitted, “I don’t know if it’s kept pace.”

The Legislature increased the Homestead Exemption to $25,000 a few years ago, but residents only see the full exemption if their municipality is assessing properties at 100%.

The state’s other existing programs include the property tax fairness credit, based on income, and the state property tax deferral program, for seniors. St. Peter said the latter program seems to be “widely unpopular” because the taxes must be paid back, with interest, when a home is sold or becomes part of an estate.

Sen. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, who is chair of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, said legislators have been hearing from constituents regarding taxes, and that they’re also “looking at our own bills and saying, ‘Wow.'”

“We all recognize they are out of control,” she said. “And that’s why property tax relief remains a top priority.”

Rotundo said the Legislature has attempted to address rising property taxes by increasing revenue sharing, strengthening tax credits for seniors and investing in housing. Regarding school budgets, she said Lewiston received more than $72 million in state aid this year, the highest number in the state.

She said ending the tax stabilization program was a bipartisan decision due to its projected costs, unintended consequences and impact to local municipalities. But, she said, legislators are committed to doing more, and she expects more to come forward during the upcoming session.

Kate Dufour, director of advocacy and communications for the Maine Municipal Association, said MMA’s legislative policy committee, which is made up of municipal officials across the state, is still working on its 2025-26 legislative platform.

She said it contains a few bills “addressing issues of municipal concern” for consideration by the Legislature, and while it will not be finalized until late November, “the over reliance of property taxes to fund not only municipal services, but school and county expenses, as well as the burdens of unfunded state mandates, is at the top of the issues list.”