WESTBROOK, Maine — Residents in a handful of towns across Maine are left shocked at a hike in property taxes due this year, something municipalities say are an effect of the times.
One homeowner from Westbrook who spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine, who wanted to remain anonymous, says his property taxes are increasing by close to $1,000 dollars this year.
"On the mortgage website that we use, it'll show what the estimated home value is, and it's gone up over one hundred thousand [dollars] since we purchased it," the homeowner said. "That might look good in some respects when you see that, but thinking about that in terms of when re-evaluation comes around; that's when it hurts."
A similar scenario has played out in the City of South Portland. City Assessor Brent Martin says single family homes in the city are seeing an average increase of around $1,200 to $1,300 dollars on their bill this year compared to last year.
Even across the state, assessed values are increasing anywhere from 12 percent to 60 percent according to the city.
"The adjustments, they were very difficult knowing the personal impact they would have on property owners," Martin said. "We didn't like what we had to go through."
The reasons for the change, Martin explains, is due to several factors. First, municipalities are required to assess property value based on the current market value. However, due to the pandemic, some assessments have been outdated until recently.
Normally, municipalities adjust their assessments every 10 years or so. But with an aggressive real estate market, adjustments have to be made more frequently.
"The changes have been so dramatic, and so significant, that a lot of communities are looking at updates or market adjustments as opposed to a full [inspection] of every property," Westbrook City Administrator Jerre Bryant said.
For Westbrook, Bryant says recent changes have heavily been affected by the town budget which has risen due to inflation.
If you think you might have trouble paying for your property taxes, both Bryant and Martin encourage residents to visit their local municipality websites or Maine.gov for state tax relief assistance.