County commissioners hear tax abatement appeal from landowner; decision to follow after review

Penobscot County commissioners held a tax abatement hearing on June 3 in Moisan v. Town of Enfield, in which property owner Paul Moisan asked the commissioners to reduce the 2024 assessed value on his parcel and approve a lower methodology for valuing his land.

Moisan presented documents and calculations arguing the town used incorrect just values and misapplied shorefront and lot-split treatments that led to a five- to eight-fold increase in assessed value from earlier years. He proposed an assessed value of $18,800 for 2024 and argued Enfield had, in prior exchanges, conceded several errors in its worksheets and reductions.

Representing Enfield, Town Manager Gina Batchelder and the town’s assessor’s agent, Travis Roy, said the large changes in assessed value stem from a townwide revaluation implemented for the 2025 tax commitment and from standard reassessment methods and cost files applied by the town’s revaluation contractor. The town said it had adjusted acreage after reviewing documents and issued an abatement that reduced the figure to $43,900.

Commissioners heard technical testimony and examined property cards, worksheets and comparative parcels. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the year-on-year change, which just values (2024 vs. 2025) were applied, and whether tree-growth designations and shore frontage had been properly coded. No decision was made at the hearing.

Action: The commissioners closed the hearing and said they would take the record under advisement and render a written decision at a future meeting; Moisan and town representatives were notified they would be informed of the commission’s decision after review.