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Tax abatement hearing opened for Stacyville property; commission to deliberate after review
Summary
A Stacyville property owner presented an abatement appeal alleging overvaluation; the county commission opened a hearing, heard testimony from the owner and town assessing officials, and will deliberate and issue a decision at a future meeting.
The Penobscot County Commission opened a tax abatement hearing Feb. 4 for property at 40 Torres Lane in Stacyville after applicant Timothy (Tim) McCulloch appealed his 2024 valuation and tax bill.
McCulloch testified he believes his home has been overvalued compared with neighboring properties and described differences in condition, construction and building permits. He said the town’s prior assessment practices relied on long‑standing, unchanged factors and that a previous attempt at a town revaluation was not completed. "...they continued doing the same thing, guessing numbers, riding around every year in a car, guessing numbers," McCulloch said, describing his concerns about how valuations were set before the current assessor.
Steven (Steve) Sally, the Stacyville tax assessing agent, who told the commission he has served in that capacity since Feb. 2022, explained the town’s historical practice: select board members historically handled assessing duties and used building permits and comparisons to value properties. Sally said the town is in the middle of a revaluation process to move values toward current market values and that an adjustment in 2023 had been made to reestablish certification for state purposes.
Dixie (Fawn Lee 'Dixie' Sides), a long‑time Stacyville official, provided historical context on assessing practices in the town and confirmed the town’s plan to complete a revaluation in 2025.
Commissioners and parties discussed procedural points: whether the assessor had been given access to interior inspections (McCulloch said an assessor visited but did not request interior access) and how certain building permit records were assigned to the property. The county hearing officer confirmed the abatement request remains within the permitted filing window and that the commission will deliberate the matter at a later meeting (the commission indicated the next meeting would be Feb. 18) and notify parties of its decision.
Ending: The hearing record will remain open for the commission’s deliberation; McCulloch was invited to provide any additional documentation and to attend or view the commission’s deliberation. The commission did not make an immediate ruling at the hearing.
