The additional revenue Alna may receive in the 2015-2016 fiscal year due to a recent revaluation of Central Maine Power Co. and Maine Electric Power Co. equipment may enable the town to drop its mil rate by two points, selectmen said at their July 29 meeting.
The revaluation would increase the tax payment of the power companies from $78,468.25 to $190,916.03 in 2015-2016, according to assessors’ agent Denis Berube, of John E. O’Donnell & Associates.
“We’ve been undervaluing this for years,” First Selectman David Abbott said.
The additional $112,447.78 in taxes would enable Alna to drop its mil rate two points, selectmen said. Alna currently has one of the highest mil rates in Lincoln County at 22.8.
Selectmen voted in April to hire independent appraiser William Van Tuinen, of Madison, for $2,000 to reappraise the Central Maine Power Co. and Maine Electric Power Co. equipment in Alna. According to Van Tuinen, the valuations provided by the power companies do not take the age of the infrastructure into account – new equipment is valued the same as equipment that is 50 years old.
Alna sought out the services of Van Tuinen, an experienced appraiser who conducted a similar appraisal in Whitefield, which enabled Whitefield to drop its mil rate by a full point.
The reappraisal was one of Doug Baston’s campaign promises. Baston was elected to the third selectman’s seat in March. “That was the best $2,000 we ever spent,” Baston said.
In addition to new appraisals for equipment, Van Tuinen found the land used by the power companies were also being undervalued and suggested a new value of $3,000 per acre, to be adjusted based on Alna’s assessment ratio. The power companies have approximately 60 acres of land.
Selectmen were unsure if Berube’s $190,916.03 figure incorporated the new valuation on the land as well or was limited to equipment. While the final numbers for the revaluation are still out, “we can say with total scientific precision that it’s a lot,” Baston said.
The power companies do have the ability to appeal the new valuation. However, selectmen expressed confidence in Van Tuinen, an experienced appraiser who has done similar work in Skowhegan, Rumford, China, Pittsfield, Winslow, and Madison.
