YORK, Maine — The town and Solar Owners of York Association settled a lawsuit the association filed last July seeking redress from a $1,000-per-panel assessment of residential solar system.
Under terms of the settlement, the town agrees to assess each panel at $400 retroactive to 2017 and no more than $400 from 2019-2029, which is the period of the agreement. This new per-panel assessment will be used for all houses in York with solar panels, regardless of whether owners are SOYA members.
The $1,000 assessment had been a major sticking point, with SOYA members calling it a “substantial overvaluation” — especially as the price of panels continues to decline as demand increases. SOYA’s attorney Kristin Collins said the group reached out to the town to discuss settlement.
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“Many other solar tax abatement cases throughout the state have been resolved through settlement so we were hopeful the town would be willing to consider it,” she said. “Assessment of solar installations is still a new and untested subject, so it makes more sense to come to agreement rather than to rely on a court case to choose what is the best assessment method.”
Assessor Rick Mace said when negotiations began, residents initially wanted the panels to be exempt from property taxation all together. Mace has long stated the state has not exempted solar panels from taxation, and as long as that’s the case he will assess them.
State Rep. Lydia Blume, D-York, said she will file a bill this month to add solar panels to the list of exempted items, which, if enacted into law, would likely make the settlement moot.
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In earlier court filings, Collins also took issue with Mace depreciating the panels at the same rate he depreciates the house, when panels depreciate much more quickly. The settlement gives Mace the right to continue his practice. Collins said “in the context of the settlement,” that assessment practice is “reasonable.”
Mace said both sides “went back and forth a couple of times before we agreed on the $400 per panel” cost. “The costs vary depending on the quantity installed. For large installations, $400 per panel is not far off. Several towns are assessing their panels in this price range.”
Collins said the $400 assessment is “more in line with what the appellants actually paid for their solar panels on average and the value of the energy the panels would be expected to produce over time.”
Mace said he looked at the cost of legal fees to continue the case to trial, versus the amount of money lost by reducing the per-panel assessment from $1,000 to $400. In the 2018 tax year, the fiscal impact will be $1,430 for the 12 SOYA households participating in the lawsuit. He has also agreed to abate the taxes on houses that have solar panels but are not part of the lawsuit, which will amount to $2,877 in 2018.
“It made sense to settle,” he said.