BIDDEFORD — Biddeford property owners should now have their tax bills in hand, as city staff mailed them on Thursday. For some ”“ though not many ”“ the mailing had some good news, as their property tax bills went down, but the majority saw a modest increase, and others had a more significant jump in their taxes.

The new bills are based on a revaluation of all city property, which resulted in a $140 million decrease in the city’s value. The new total is approximately $2.27 billion, said City Assessor Frank Yattaw.

Based on that new figure, he committed the new property tax rate at $18.99 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

The last time a revaluation was done was in 2007, said Yattaw. Since then, he said, here have been a lot of changes in the real estate market.

According to state guidelines, the assessed value of property within a municipality should be within 70 and 110 percent of the just or market value. The value in Biddeford was within that margin, at about 108 percent.

However, said Yattaw in a prior interview, in order to “try to keep everybody in the same playing field,” it’s important to have all properties assessed as close to 100 percent of their market values as possible.

Although the new tax rate is significantly higher than the former rate of $17.53 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, because of the reduction in valuation, homes may not register a large tax increase, said Finance Director Curt Koehler.

For instance, he said, for a home that was previously valued at $200,000 and is now only valued at $188,000, the tax increase would only be $64.

Yattaw said most of the increases are for coastal properties, particularly those that have ocean frontage.

In general, properties with the most significant decrease in value are multifamily buildings, he said. Specifically, apartment buildings in low-income areas were the most devalued, said Yattaw.

Those who think there has been an error in their assessment can seek an abatement. They have about six months to do so.

Yattaw noted to receive an abatement, an applicant must have support for why they deserve one. For instance, he said, a property may be listed as good quality, but is actually only fair quality, or there could be errors or out-of-date information in the records in the assessor’s office regarding measurements or other features of a property.

Those interested in applying for an abatement should contact the city assessor’s office.

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].