The assessor’s office is conducting a town-wide property revaluation inspring 2024. A revaluation is the process of updating all property values in town to reflect their current market value (i.e., to maintain reasonable estimates of what each property could sell for on the open market). The last revaluation was performed in 2019.
The intent of the revaluation process is to appraise all property at its current market value, creating a more equitable and fair distribution of the tax burden among taxpayers. Sales that have taken place in the last three years indicate that the market value of property has increased. When the real estate market has higher prices, the ratio of assessed value-to-sales price grows further out of alignment. This leads to a reduction of state reimbursements and exemptions that are based on the “Certified Ratio.” A revaluation can bring state reimbursements and exemptions back to full value. If we do not conduct a revaluation, the homestead exemption, as well as several other exemptions and state reimbursements, will continue to decrease.
The 2019 revaluation was performed by independent contractor KRT Appraisal. Post-revaluation public workshops conducted by town leadership and assessing to review the process concluded that revaluations should be performed more regularly. They have since been planned to occur once every fifth year, unless special circumstances necessitate otherwise. This routine cycle will help to maintain a fairly apportioned property tax burden and provide predictability for taxpayers.
Another outcome after the 2019 revaluation was to use in-house assessing staff to conduct future revaluations, rather than an independent contractor. The assessing department has a Scarborough-specific base of knowledge of town properties and the real estate market. The department will be also able to provide a higher level of customer service throughout the process and the overall cost is largely reduced. The estimated cost related to the 2024 in-house revaluation totals $44,000, as compared to $391,000 for the one performed by KRT Appraisal in 2019.
The 2024 market update revaluation will be based upon existing property data and sales data from the preceding two years, avoiding on-site property inspections except to confirm validity of data for a sample of properties. The reassessment project will establish market value as of April 1, 2024 and will be reflected in the tax bills issued in fall 2024.
By itself, a revaluation does not increase or decrease total tax revenue collected by the town. The amount of taxes raised only changes if the town, school, and county budgets change. Revaluation itself is a revenue-neutral process — it does not raise more taxes, rather it redistributes the existing tax base according to current property values so that all property owners pay their fair share based on the market values of their property. Your assessed value may go up, but the tax rate will most likely go down. Some owners will see increases, others will see decreases, and some will see no change in their taxes owed. Typically, a sizable tax increase could happen if the property has been undervalued for some time, relative to other properties, or improvements have been made.
Property owners will receive a preliminary notice of the new assessed value of their property upon completion of the revaluation process in spring 2024. The assessor’s office will afford all property owners a chance for an informal meeting where you can appeal your new assessed value and ask questions about the assessment process before the new assessments go into effect in August 2024.
Visit www.scarboroughmaine.org/Revaluation for more information, including commonly asked questions, infographic educational materials and a project schedule. There will continue to be public outreach in the months ahead. The town assessor will present about the 2024 revaluation during a town council workshop scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 5:30 p.m. Attend in person at Scarborough Town Hall or view remotely (links available on the Town Calendar at www.scarboroughmaine.org).
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