City staff told the City Council that a backlog of property assessments and a compressed production timeline mean property owners will likely have fewer than 30 days to pay their annual tax bills after mailing.

The timeline update, presented by a city staff member, said the tax bill due date remains Sept. 15. Staff said they had anticipated a tax commitment from the assessor’s office by Aug. 11 so the billing, matching and proofing process could run 1½ to 2 weeks before printing. If the commitment slips past Aug. 11, staff said Aug. 18 is probably the latest date they can accept and still mail bills in the week before Sept. 15.

Why it matters: the assessor’s commitment triggers IT and tax-collection systems to create and proof bills; delays there compress the time taxpayers have to receive and pay bills. Council members repeatedly pressed staff that two weeks is inadequate and said taxpayers deserve a full 30 days.

City staff described the assessment backlog in detail. The assessor team reported about 110 properties needing assessment work (a mix of new permits and properties pending final valuation from prior years), about 40 land splits to revalue, and remaining work on RV campground valuations. The presenter said Assistant Assessor Nikki Del Luna has done most of the personal property work and has been doing field visits to support code staff and learn the process. The office is also exploring bringing in outside consultant help for higher‑skill assessment blocks that exceed current staff capacity.

On remedies, staff said code enforcement could assist by flagging certificate-of-occupancy cases during inspections so assessors receive data earlier rather than waiting for the April 1 assessment cycle. Staff also described a tracking tool and cross-training among assessors, code and IT to speed processing.

Councilors and attendees pressed staff on fairness to taxpayers. One councilor said, “It’s not fair to Mr. and Mrs. Ellsworth to get a bill that doesn’t have 30 days to pay.” The city presenter responded that the team is “considering changing the date it starts accruing interest, which will give them extra time,” and that the mailed bills will include explanatory language. The presenter added, “We’ve already been prepping that,” in reference to a notice in the bill explaining the short notice and the temporary interest policy.

Finance operations and audits: staff said they are working to start the fiscal‑year‑2025 audit earlier and have scheduled a consultant visit from Sue Souisard, identified in the meeting as a former Bucksport town manager, to review policies and procedures. Staff said they are also implementing grant trackers and other reconciliation tools to improve timeliness and transparency. The presenter praised the finance team’s recent improvements and said the office is striving to have accounts ready for the audit and to prevent future late vendor payments.

What was directed vs. discussed: staff described operational steps already underway (tracking tools, staff cross-training, consultant audit review) and said they will consult the city attorney on deadlines and interest‑accrual options. No formal council motion or ordinance change was reported in the meeting; the changes described were operational and administrative.

Key figures and schedule highlights: staff listed approximately 110 properties needing assessment work and about 40 land‑split valuations remaining. The target dates staff provided were an assessor commitment aimed for Aug. 11 (with Aug. 18 as a likely latest acceptable commitment) and a mailed bill date the week before the Sept. 15 due date. Staff estimated taxpayers will have roughly two to three weeks to pay once bills arrive unless interest‑accrual dates are adjusted.

Next steps and outlook: staff said they will continue working the assessment backlog, explore consultant support for complex valuations, coordinate code inspections with assessors to capture occupancy changes sooner, and put a notice in mailed bills about any grace period or interest‑accrual adjustment. They also said the finance team will pursue the earlier audit start for FY25 and that the consultant review will inform policy and procedure changes.