New property values established as part of Bangor’s ongoing revaluation likely won’t take effect for the upcoming tax year, according to city officials.
The firm conducting the revaluation missed its deadline, so the updated values won’t be ready in time to be used this year, City Assessor Phil Drew said at a city council budget workshop Wednesday.
The delay further prolongs a process marking Bangor’s first citywide revaluation in nearly 40 years. Property owners have been bracing for the new assessment, with some people even refusing to let the appraisers into their homes, as it is expected to raise home values. A higher home value does not necessarily mean higher taxes, as the tax rate will likely change.
The Massachusetts-based KRT Appraisal, which contracted with the city to appraise its properties, has been working on the revaluation for two years.
Drew said the appraiser told him Monday that it still needed another two to three weeks to finish the revaluation for certain types of properties, including commercial buildings and large apartments.
The appraiser was supposed to submit the new property values by Monday, which would have made July 24 the final completion date for the revaluation, Drew said. With a multi-week delay, that would push completion back to August, which wouldn’t leave much time before tax bills are due in September.
Instead, the city will plan to estimate values for the upcoming tax cycle by adjusting last year’s values, councilors discussed Wednesday. When it receives the complete revaluation, it will hold onto those values for next year.
“That’s the most seamless experience for the taxpayer, is to just hold it over,” City Manager Carollynn Lear said.
Lear also discussed some changes she plans to make that could ease the burden on taxpayers, including using $2.8 million from the city’s $18.8 million unassigned fund balance to offset the growing tax, adjusting the budget for salaries and wages to assume that not all positions will be filled the entire year, and reducing the budget for new positions under the assumption that new hires won’t be hired immediately.
Although Lear’s initial proposed budget would’ve brought the city’s tax rate up to $18.07 for every $1,000 of property value, she expects the tax rate will ultimately be lower than last year’s after implementing these changes, she said.