Bookmark & share:

E-mail this page E-mail a letter to the editor Reader Comments (below)

BY BETTY JESPERSEN
Staff Writer 08/28/2008

FARMINGTON -- Property taxpayers will see a 55-cent increase in the property tax rate when they open their tax bills later this summer.

Selectmen this week went along with Assessor Mark Caldwell's recommendation of a tax, or mill, rate of $15.28 per $1,000 of property value, up from $14.73 in 2007.

This year, the town was unable to tap the undesignated fund balance, formerly known as surplus, to keep taxes stable. That account had been used to pay for a $250,000 repair to the drainage system under Broadway two years ago and to cover an $80,000 cost overrun in the public works department last winter.

To avoid a town-wide property revaluation, Caldwell has gradually been increasing the values of property to keep pace with market values, he told the Board of Selectmen Tuesday.

He said prices of homes in Farmington during the current statewide real estate downturn have stayed fairly steady and there has been a drop in new construction. But land prices here never slumped.

"Land is going up faster than land and buildings combined," he said.

As a result, this year, Caldwell is readjusting land values by a small amount to keep up with the market.

For example, the owner of a $145,400, single-family home on a half-acre lot in the village residential zone paid $2,142 in property taxes in 2007. In 2008, the land value of the property will be increased by $1,500 , raising property taxes to $2,244.

At the same time, undeveloped land not classified in Tree Growth, Farm Land, or Open Space -- state programs that offer property owners a reduction in their assessed value -- will see values and taxes increased.

According to Caldwell, a 200-acre parcel valued at $71,500 with $1,053 in property taxes in 2007 will be reassessed closer to its market value at $96,200 with property taxes increased by $426 to $1,479.

"A revaluation would be a much more dramatic shift," Caldwell said. "But I don't know how much longer we can hold off."

Selectman Jon Bubier commended Caldwell for incrementally increasing valuations over time to avoid a revaluation.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com

Bookmark and share this story: