Houlton property tax values on the rise

    According to the Houlton Tax Assessor Laureen Bither, property valuations for the 2010 tax year will be increasing for most properties within the town. However, that does not necessarily imply homeowners will see an increased property tax bill.
    The last town wide revaluation was completed in 2005; however property values have continued to increase since that time as evidenced by actual market sales.
    As a result of the revaluation that was implemented in 2005, property valuations were determined to be at 100 percent of actual market value at that point in time. Due to the increase in sales prices of properties sold over the past five years, studies have shown that property valuations have declined to approximately 85 to 90 percent of actual market sales.
    While other parts of the country have been experiencing a decline in property values as evidenced by market sales, property values based on actual sales in Aroostook County have not only remained stable, but have continued to rise.  
    Bither states the goal of municipalities in Maine is to maintain property valuations as close to 100 percent of market values as possible in order to stay well within the state of Maine requirements and guidelines for assessing practices. Once property valuations fall below 90 percent of market values, taxpayers will see a decrease in their homestead exemptions and veteran’s exemptions as those exemptions can only be granted at 100 percent of full value by the municipality if the municipality’s valuations are within 90 percent to 100 percent of market values.
    Therefore, in order for Houlton’s taxpayers to receive the full benefit of their property tax exemptions for this year, property valuations need to be increased for the 2010 tax year. As State legislation has already decreased the homestead property tax exemption from a $13,000 valuation exemption to a $10,000 valuation exemption for 2010, the Town of Houlton wants to make sure its taxpayers receive the full benefit of this exemption.
    The fact that the municipality’s ratio of assessed values to market values also affects revenues the municipality receives from the State of Maine is yet another reason for property valuations to remain as close to 100 percent of market values as possible in order to protect anticipated revenues.
    However, states Bither, when there is an increase to property valuations town wide, the net result is also a decrease in the tax rate that is established for tax billing purposes. Therefore, an increase to the taxpayer in their property valuation does not necessarily mean an increase to the taxpayer in the amount of their tax bill.  The property valuation is only one component that plays a factor in the determination of the tax rate.  Other factors involved in determining the tax rate are the town’s annual budget, the town’s share of the County budget, the town’s share of the SAD 29 budget, as well as anticipated revenues to the town from the State of Maine as well as various other sources.
    In 2009 tax bills were mailed out in July; it is hoped that the 2010 tax bills will be mailed out again in July or even earlier if possible.