The Brunswick Town Council on Tuesday night voted to extend the property tax due date by two weeks.
The council made the move after it reversed course on a revaluation that would have resulted in steep tax hikes for some homeowners because of soaring residential real estate values. After an outcry, the council indefinitely delayed the revaluation last month.
The Assessor’s Office has been recalculating property tax bills based on the old 2022 values and extending the collection deadline from Oct. 15 to Oct. 31 will give the office more time to complete the process and homeowners more time to prepare, according to council Chairperson James Mason.
The delay means the town will lose out on about $50,000 in interest because rates are so high, according to Finance Director Julia Henze.
The town allows homeowners to pay property taxes in two installments, usually in mid-October and mid-April. The council on Tuesday did not move the April deadline.
Brunswick taxpayers will see a 7.4% increase in their bills due to the $92.1 million budget the council approved in May. The budget represents a 9.2% increase in spending over last year.
Under the revaluation, which town officials said they undertook to comply with state law requiring municipal property values to align with the market based on certain percentages, some homeowners’ tax bills would have doubled.
Had the revaluation gone forward, the council discussed delaying the property tax due date a month and using $1 million in town funds to lower the tax levy.
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