The Brunswick Town Council called a special meeting to be held Thursday to decide whether to delay a property revaluation after an outcry from homeowners facing steep tax hikes.

Town officials commissioned the revaluation, the first since 2017, to align assessments with the current market, as property values have soared in recent years. Some homeowners, including Councilor Kathy Wilson, would see their property taxes double this year.

After an outcry from some residents last week, the council said it would consider postponing the revaluation. Town Manager John Eldridge, Assessor Taylor Burns and Town Attorney Kristin Collins issued a report to the council that recommended delaying it until next year.

“Postponing the implementation would provide the assessor with another year to review the valuation methods and make additional adjustments,” they wrote. “It will allow taxpayers nearly nine months to review their own situation and the implications of increasing valuations.”

While most property tax bills would be based on 2022 values, the assessing office would correct errors from the 2017 revaluation and account for new construction or improvements. Property tax payments, typically due in mid-October, would include about a 7% hike because of the new town budget the council approved in May. The council will vote on the delay at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

Under the revaluation, about 62% of property owners would see a tax hike, 22% would see no change and 15% would see a tax decrease. More of the tax burden would be shifted to homeowners because the increase of residential real estate values has outpaced commercial values.

State law requires municipal assessments to average between 70% and 110% of market value, and Brunswick’s assessment was at 58%, according to Assessor Taylor Burns.

Wilson, 78, was born in Brunswick and runs a pet-grooming business. She said she was floored by the potential tax hike.

“I thought I could retire,” she said. “There is no way I can afford to not work the rest of my life and stay here.”

The revaluation analyzed the town’s 9,721 properties, which were valued at $5.1 billion, a 62% increase over 2022. Duplexes and triplexes increased in value the most at 97%, while mobile homes increased by 90%, single-family homes increased by 72% and condominiums increased by 54%. The increase in property value translates to a projected drop in the property tax rate, from $21.69 per $1,000 value to $14.50 per $1,000 value.

If the council delays the revaluation, tax exemptions would be adjusted using 2022 cost tables and those who qualified for the senior property tax stabilization program would receive the tax credit for which they were approved.

Bath is undergoing a similar revaluation, the first in that city since 2019.

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