Auburn officials say it’s too early to worry about next year’s property tax bill.

They say that, however, after warning homeowners that they could see an increase of $2,000.

If you ask us, it’s never too early to worry about your property taxes jumping by that much.

Last week, the city sent out information about its re-evaluation. Good news in the real estate market means that more than half of all homeowners could see the assessed value of their properties increase by 50 percent.

What should be good news – the appreciation of an important asset – comes with a sharp realization that the increased value means higher taxes.

But how much the new values sting is completely under the control of the City Council, which sets the mill rate. As the valuation of the city increases, the mill rate should be reduced by an amount that keeps total tax collections consistent. Tax increases shouldn’t be hidden behind a veil of higher assessments.

That could still translate into higher taxes for some, and lower taxes for others. The city might find that residential property has grown in value faster than commercial property – the tax burden on businesses would go down while the burden on homeowners would go up. If that’s what’s happening, the city needs to do a better job of explaining it.

There are a lot of factors that go into determining how much a person pays in property taxes. Many of the variables won’t be known until some time next year. But to send out a letter warning of higher taxes and then to tell people not to worry about it is a recipe for confusion and frustration.