Somerville Treasurer Sandra Devaney discusses outstanding property taxes during a Wednesday, Feb. 6 meeting of the Somerville Select Board while Town Clerk Russ Gates listens. Somerville will see its mil rate change this year, as the town is due for a revaluation, Assessors Agent Jim Murphy (not pictured) said at the meeting. (Molly Rains photo)
The Somerville Select Board directed Assessors’ Agent Jim Murphy to move forward with a revaluation this year after discussion at a Wednesday, Feb. 5 meeting. The board also implemented a conflict resolution policy, discussed legal fees related to broadband construction, and decided against grading a private road.
Undertaking a revaluation this year will ensure the property tax burden is distributed in accordance with home values, said Somerville Assessor Jim Murphy. However, some residents expressed dismay when Murphy said he expected the assessed values of some homes to jump significantly.
In a revaluation, an assessor updates the documented values of all properties in a town based on current market data, like recent local sales, Murphy said. These figures are used to calculate what share of property taxes will be applied to different properties.
Such a system is mandated in the Maine constitution, which calls for property taxes to be distributed “equally” according to the “just value” of the property.
Because home prices have generally climbed in Maine since Somerville’s last revaluation in 2017, the process will see home valuations rise for many property owners, said Murphy. However, the state of Maine imposes penalties on towns that do not maintain an accurate and current valuation, such as diminishing the homestead exemption benefits available to residents.
The state will require the town to undertake a revaluation when the town’s total value falls below 70% of the amount the state considers accurate, Murphy said.
Murphy said he expected the town to receive communication from the state requiring a revaluation be undertaken either this year or next.
Somerville Select Board Chair Willard Pierpont asked Murphy if the town could put off the revaluation until 2026. Town Clerk Russell Gates, who represents Somerville on the RSU 12 Board of Directors, said the RSU 12 budget was shaping up to be significant this year, and asked if putting off the revaluation could help the town manage that.
“With the school budget that’s coming up, we’re going to get walloped … I’m just thinking that if we put it off until 2026 that might help ease it a little bit,” Gates said.
Murphy said he believed pushing off revaluing the town would ultimately be more harmful to taxpayers because it created a “discriminatory” distribution of the tax burden and reduced the amount of homestead exemption residents are eligible to receive.
Assessment that distributes property taxes according to values that are out-of-date and therefore do not reflect the current market value of properties is “discriminatory assessing,” Murphy said.
Select board member Kathryn Jennings said the potential reduction in homestead exemption, a state program that allows some property owners to reduce the value of their home by up to $25,000 for property tax purposes, could harm residents if a revaluation were postponed.
“The homestead exemption really helps people in this town,” she said.
Somerville has two major classes of property: waterfront homes and non-waterfront homes, said Murphy. Based on market trends, the values of waterfront homes will climb more steeply than non-waterfront homes. Murphy indicated at a previous meeting of the Somerville Select Board on Jan. 8 that waterfront homes could double in assessed value.
“There are people on the Frye Road who are going to be taxed out of their homes,” said Alan Mitchell, road commissioner of the private Frye Road Association, at the Feb. 5 meeting. “I don’t see how that’s helping anything. If you tax people out of their homes, people can’t pay their taxes, and that’s less money the town is taking in. It’s ridiculous.”
While assessed value determines what share of the tax burden will be borne by property owners, the actual amount of taxes residents will pay is determined by the town budget in a separate process, said resident Chris Johnson.
The select board voted unanimously to direct Murphy to begin the revaluation process.
In other business, the board voted unanimously to adopt a conflict resolution process policy to apply to town employees and all residents, as proposed by Jennings.
Under the policy, a person can initiate the conflict resolution process by calling a member of the Somerville Select Board on the same day that a conflict occurs to report the incident.
Jennings, who is appointed to the role of mediator under the policy, will then arrange a meeting for the two parties and herself, according to the policy. The policy calls for each party to have an opportunity to speak without interruption and work toward a solution satisfactory to both parties.
As written, the policy directs participants not to discuss the process, either on social media or with the public “in any manner” after a solution has been reached.
If a solution is not reached, the select board must determine next steps, the policy reads.
The last paragraph of the policy states that the policy is not intended to “infringe upon anyone’s First Amendment rights to free speech.”
It is enacted “in good faith in order to create a pathway for clear and honest communication that will lead to more harmony within our (t)own,” the policy reads.
The policy does not outline a path forward should a conflict involve a select board member, including Jennings. Maine law governing public records and public proceedings limits the circumstances under which select boards can meet in private. As Somerville’s select board contains three members, two members gathering would establish a quorum; the meeting between the two would be therefore required to be advertised and open to the public, with limited exceptions.
On Monday, Feb. 10, Jennings said the select board would have to determine the appropriate course of action in such a circumstance.
The select board voted 3-0 to adopt the policy.
Also during the meeting, the select board rejected a request from residents of Frye Road for the town to assist with grading the road. More than 40 houses are on the private road, Mitchell said Jan. 8. Residents were upset that despite paying taxes they did not receive road services from the town, he said at the time.
However, legal advice from the Maine Municipal Association indicated that grading a private road on the town’s dime would be illegal, Pierpont said Feb. 5.
Furthermore, the select board did not want to establish a precedent that could lead to assuming care of other private roads, said Jennings.
Mitchell said he was “confused” and displeased, believing that other towns and cities in Maine including Augusta helped some private road residents plow and sand.
“Our hands are tied,” said Pierpont.
The select board also noted a donation of $350 from Somerville-based blade company RopeRazor for the planned restoration of the Somerville Veterans’ Memorial, located on Route 105.
The next meeting of the Somerville Select Board will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the town office. For more information, go to somervillemaine.org or call 549-3828.
