After backlash from the community, Brunswick town councilors voted to delay the 2023 property tax assessment indefinitely, meaning the home values used to calculate taxes will remain the same as last year.
The move on Thursday followed a heated meeting earlier this month at which members of the community spoke to the council about the unexpected increase in property taxes they were facing due to new property assessments based on a real estate market that is slowing down after major home-value spikes earlier in the pandemic.
Under the changes, the amount of taxes collected would have remained virtually flat at $58 million. However, the amounts would have changed for many homeowners. Some complained that their bills were poised to double or even rise further, while others would have seen their taxes decrease.
The council voted to use the 2022 assessment at Thursday’s special meeting, authorizing the assessor to correct errors made in the previous revaluation in 2017 and letting the town adjust for any new construction or property changes since the 2022 assessment.
“If you believe the revaluation process was flawed, we are going to have a process throughout the next year for you to give input about that,” said James Mason, the council chair.
The tax fallout stems from major changes in individual home values since the beginning of the pandemic. Values in Maine rose 60 percent from the beginning of 2020 to July 2023, according to Zillow data. Gains have slowed to 4.2 percent between this year and last year, while values in Brunswick were $83,000 above the state average.
If the tax assessment for 2023 had gone through, several homeowners in Brunswick said at the Aug. 7 meeting that they would no longer be able to afford to live in Brunswick. After a presentation from the tax assessor on why the revaluation was done, residents called for more transparency with the council and a reconsideration of the tax assessment, which is why this special meeting was called.
