Brunswick officials starting this week will hold a series of public forums on the revaluation process after some residents complained of a lack of outreach leading up to a recent revaluation that would have resulted in steep property tax hikes for some homeowners.
The Town Council last month indefinitely delayed the revaluation after an outcry. Some homeowners would have seen tax hikes of 100% or more due to soaring residential property values. Instead, there will be a roughly 7% across-the-board tax hike because tax bills will be calculated based on 2022 values and the $92.1 million budget the council approved in May included the 7% tax hike.
In response to residents’ complaints about a lack of outreach, the Finance Committee will hold four public forums over the next few months to explain the revaluation process.
The first forum is at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at Town Hall, when the committee will discuss how the budget is developed, how the town’s tax rate is determined and how the fund balance works. The other forums, which all start at 6:30 p.m., are as follows:
• Thursday, Oct. 19, at Town Hall to discuss the town’s tax commitment, tax relief options and a report from the town auditor.
• Thursday, Nov. 19, at Town Hall to discuss how state law controls taxes, how the assessing process works and revaluation methods.
• Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Recreation Center to discuss how the real estate market compares to assessed values.
More forums are planned next year.
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