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Who appoints the Assessor’s Agent?
What are the credentials of the
assessing agent?
What guidelines must the Assessors
and their agent follow?
How is the tax rate established?
How is my tax bill figured?
What creates value?
When are my taxes due?
What causes property values to
change?
Why does the Assessor’s Agent need
to visit my property?
If the Assessor’s Agent asks to
view the interior of my home, must I let him in?
What if I think my taxes are too high?
May the Town of Phippsburg grant real
estate tax exemptions or tax reductions to selected properties for purposes it
deems useful?
Who appoints the Town’s Assessing
Agent?
The Assessing Agent is appointed by
the Board of Selectmen, who are the Assessors for the Town of Phippsburg.
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What are the credentials of the
Assessing Agent?
Juanita C. Wilson Hennessey,
dba Wilson Hennessey Appraisal contracted with the Town of Phippsburg to provide
assessing services effective March 01, 2002. Juanita has been professionally
active in the field of real estate since 1984, and has been engaged in the
evaluation of real property since 1987. She maintains three Maine professional
licenses and certifications as a Designated Broker, a Certified Residential Real
Estate Appraiser and a Certified Maine Assessor. Juanita has earned the
designation IFA from the National Association of Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA)
and serves as a State Director for the professional organization. To avoid
possible conflict of interest, Juanita limits her professional activity within
the Town of Phippsburg to her service as the Selectmen’s Contract Assessing
Agent.
Juanita has qualified as an
Expert Witness in real estate valuation before the State of Maine District Court
and the United States Bankruptcy Court, District of Maine.
Juanita’s current professional memberships include the National Association of
Independent Fee Appraisers (NAIFA), the International Association of Assessing
Officers (IAAO), the Maine Chapter of IAAO, the Maine Association of Assessing
Officers (MAAO), the Maine Real Estate Information System (MREIS), the National
Association of Realtors (NAR), the Maine Association of Realtors (MAR), and the
local Merrymeeting Board of Realtors (MBOR).
Past professional activities
include serving as a Founding Director of MREIS for five years, serving as a
State Director for MAR, serving as a Director and Officer for MBOR for nine
years and serving as a Director and Officer of Merrymeeting Multiple Listing
Service, Inc (MMLS, Inc) for eleven years.
Past community participation
relevant to real estate includes service on the Town of West Bath Zoning Board
of Appeals and Planning Board for six years, service on the West Bath
Comprehensive Plan Committee, service on the West Bath Budget and Finance Review
Board for seven years, and service as Director and Chair of the City of Bath
Housing Authority for five years.
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What guidelines must the Assessors
and their Agent follow?
Property tax
administration is guided by the State Constitution, under Title 36 of the Maine
Statutes, and a body of case law that interprets these Statutes. Assessment
practice is NOT GUIDED BY LOCAL ORDINANCE. The Assessors and Assessing Agent are
charged with establishing a list of all properties in the Town of Phippsburg and
estimating their market value.
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How is the tax rate established?
The Board of Selectmen and the School
Board prepare budgets for the coming year. The budget is then presented to the
residents of Phippsburg at the annual Town meeting. After the budget is voted on
and approved the tax rate is then calculated by dividing the amount needed to be
raised by the town’s total assessed property value.
For example: $13,000,000 to be raised
divided by $700,000,000 total value of all taxable properties in town = $.017
tax rate. Thus each dollar of property value would be assessed $.017; or as more
commonly expressed, property would be assess at $17.00 per thousand. The .017 is
often referred to as the mil rate. ( These numbers are for the purpose of an
example only ).
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How is my tax bill figured?
Each property owner’s
responsibility for their part of the town’s annual budget is assigned to them
according to the value of their property. This "share" is calculated
by multiplying their individual property’s valuation by the tax rate. For
example: if the value of a property is $150,000, this number is multiplied by
the tax rate (.017) to determine a tax bill of $2,550.
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What creates market value?
The citizens establish market value
through ongoing transactions of buying and selling property. It is the duty of
the assessors and their agent to study these sales transactions and appraise
properties accordingly.
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When are my taxes due?
The due dates for property taxes are
set each year at the annual town meeting. These dates are usually November 15th.
for the first half with the second half due May 15th. of the following year.
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What causes property value to change?
The most frequent cause of value
change is a change in the local real estate market. As demand for property goes
up, prices tend to go up. As demand decreases, so do prices.
An individual property can also
change in value due to changes to the property itself, If something is added,
such as a garage, deck or shed the value increases. On the other hand, fire,
demolition, or depreciation from poor maintenance can decrease value.
Often, economic forces can cause a
change value. For, example if a major employer leaves town it tends to depress
the local economy and that will eventually have an effect on property values.
Times of general inflation will also drive up property values.
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Why does the Assessor’s Agent need
to visit my property?
The Assessor’s Agent visits
properties to assure the accuracy of the data on the property record cards,
which are used to formulate each assessment.
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If the Assessor’s Agent asks to
view the interior of my home,
must I let him in?
No! You may either decline or ask to
set up an appointment for another time that is convenient to you. As a matter of
fact, you can request that the Agent not even measure the structures on your
property. If you, the property owner make this decision, the Agent will then
make as accurate as possible estimation of the size, quality of construction,
and over all condition of your property.
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What if I think my taxes are too high?
The amount of a tax bills is
determined by the size of the budget, which is established by the Board of
Selectmen, the School Board and then voted on by the residents of Phippsburg at
the annual town meeting. The Assessor’s Agent does not the budget or collect
taxes.
On the other hand, the property owner’s
share of for that budget is determined by the property owner’s property value.
If the owner feels his taxes are to high he is encouraged to call the Town Hall
to inquire if the value of their property has changed. If it has changed, it
could be for a variety of reasons. The buildings may have had additions. There
could have been an increase in the cost schedule for the buildings to the ever
increasing cost to replace buildings. Property sales over a period of time may
point to a need to increase the value of the land. These changes may not
always mean an increase in the value.
If the property owner believes that
the current value placed on their property is inaccurate, unfair, or overvalued
relative to the current real estate market, they may take the following steps,
in order they are:
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Review the property record card or
the computer print out of your property to assure the accuracy of the data. These are
available in the Assessing Office.
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Check sale prices of similar homes
in the area, also available in the Assessing Office.
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Provide evidence to the Assessor’s
Agent that the property is overvalued. See hand out that goes with the abatement
form.
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Make a request that the Assessor’s
Agent review the property, which may include a physical inspection.
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To go along with number 4, make a
formal abatement request. After this request is received, the Assessor’s Agent may
request to make a physical inspection of the property.
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If the abatement is denied, then
the next step is to make a formal appeal of the denial
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to the
Phippsburg Board of Assessment Review .
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May the Town of Phippsburg grant real
estate exemptions or tax reductions to selected properties for the purposes it
deems useful?
NO! In Article 9 section 9 of the
State constitution we find that "the legislature shall never, in any
manner, suspend or surrender the power of taxation". This has been
interpreted by the courts as meaning that only the legislature can add or remove
rules for real estate exemption. What this means is that cities and towns can
not make adjustments to property values that exceed what is already granted by
law.
Having said this, the State does
provided a few vehicles for reducing a property owner’s tax, for example the
Tree Growth program or the Farm and Open Space program. There are
also other exemptions that will be discussed later.
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