To The Editor:
As a relatively new homeowner, my real estate tax bill required me to do a little research to understand the numbers. I’ve organized my thoughts and would describe them as “Tax Assessment 101” that I would share with the town.
The numbers on the bill show the mil rate, the taxpayer’s valuation, the taxpayer’s assessment and the breakdown of that assessment according to the town. Wiscasset’s tax bill shows its taxpayer’s 2011 mil rate of 15.15 percent and the current billing distribution of school, town and county taxes as 71.4 percent, 21.4 percent and 7.2 percent respectively.
This distribution is the result of the new method Wiscasset is using for applying the town’s revenue to the town’s total assessment. The new method is a departure from the Maine Revenue Services Department of Property Tax recommended calculation and the method Wiscasset has historically used. The new method was adopted for this tax year.
The distribution on a Wiscasset taxpayer’s 2011 Real Estate Bill does not reconcile with the distribution of the total assessment on the town’s Certificate of Assessment.
The amount a taxpayer owes is derived from a separate set of numbers, basically, the total value of the town divided by the total amount of money the town doesn’t have in its coffers resulting in what every taxpayer is asked to pay over the total valuation of the town. The result is multiplied by 1000 and the mil rate is set. These numbers can be found in the town office on the Certificate of Assessment.
Comparing two successive years shows why mil rates change.
Between 2010 and 2011, Wiscasset’s total Assessments (what Wiscasset needs to spend) increased $418,188, from $9,935,570.56 to $10,353,758.27.
County assessments account for 4.75 percent of the total and increased $10,814(2.25 percent) from last year; Municipal assessments account for 47.41 percent of the total and increased $383,115 (8.46 percent); TIF funding assessments account for .49 percent of the total and increased $1,375 (2.77 percent); RSU 12 assessments account for 46.84 percent of the total and increased $26,268 (0.54 percent); and Overlay, which accounts for .51 percent of the total assessments decreased by $3,384 (6.02 percent).
Between 2010 and 2011, Wiscasset’s total other income, the amount of money Wiscasset receives from non-tax sources and that is deducted from the total assessment, increased by $230,419 from $3,333,278.72 (FY2010) to $3,563,697.95 (FY2011).
This is due to State Revenue Sharing increasing $10,000; Homestead reimbursements increasing $1,235; BETE reimbursement decreased $2,017; and Other Revenue increasing $221,201 (Other Revenue includes money appropriated from Transfer Station, Wiscasset Water District, Excise Taxes, Surplus, trust fund or bank interest income, etc.).
Most other towns and the Maine Revenue Services apply the amount of Other Revenue proportionately to the total assessment but as of 2011, Wiscasset no longer does. Wiscasset applies the Other Revenue to the Municipal portion of the Assessment only and this explains why the distribution on a taxpayer’s bill does not agree with the distribution on the Certificate of Assessment.
The total assessment (expenditures) minus the total deductions (revenue) provides the net assessment, or, the amount of money taxpayers must pay. This amount divided by the total valuation of the town times 1000 provides the mil rate.
The mil rate multiplied by every $1,000 of a taxpayer’s assessed property value equals the amount a taxpayer is asked to pay.
As you can see from the above details, Wiscasset’s total assessment is up by $418,188 and its deductions are up by $230,419, leaving a difference of $187,768, which taxpayers need to make up in current tax dollars. This caused Wiscasset’s .35 mil rate increase for 2011-12.
The difference between the municipal assessment of 47.41 percent and the education assessment (RSU 12 assessment) of 46.84 percent on the town’s Certificate of Assessment to the distribution on a taxpayer’s real estate bill is the result of the town’s new method of applying other revenue to total assessment as of this Fiscal Year 2012.
Kim Andersson
Wiscasset
