Lewiston assessor recommends implementing revaluation; council leans toward a one-year delay for rollout

Director Healy, Lewiston's assessing director, told the City Council at a Thursday budget workshop that a three-year revaluation is complete and has created substantial shifts in assessed values that will affect most residential properties.

Healy said roughly 48% of parcels would see the same or a minor reduction in taxable value while about 52% would see increases. He presented four implementation scenarios — ranging from a statistical update by property class with no informal hearings to multi-year statistical updates with hearings and stratified land-use adjustments — and said the vendor could modify software for phased implementation for about $5,000'$10,000 but that multi-year approaches carry additional analysis and staffing costs. He recommended immediate, full implementation to stop further inequities and to avoid spreading staff workload and taxpayer confusion over several years. "At some point, we have to do it," Healy said, adding that delaying merely postpones the inevitable.

Several councilors pushed back. Councilor Nagy raised concerns about seniors and low-income homeowners who may not have applied for homestead or tax-relief programs; Healy said the city had about 5,270 homestead exemptions on file and roughly 8,388 single-family residential parcels, leaving about 3,000 homeowners who might still qualify. Councilor Longchamps and others said residents had not yet received valuation notices (Healy said notices were scheduled to be mailed the following Friday) and urged a runway of at least 12'15 months so people can review their new assessments and apply for available programs.

Healy also described legal constraints: the municipal assessor acts as an agent of the State of Maine to preserve independence from political influence over valuations, and state law sets appeal standards. He told the council that an abatement claimant must typically show an assessment deviates by more than 10% from relevant assessment ratios to prevail, a high bar when the certified ratio is under 40%.

The council discussed implementation timing and taxpayer impacts alongside a proposed city budget that will itself raise tax bills. Several councilors argued immediate implementation would correct inequities sooner; others said the combined impact of a higher budget and new assessments could produce untenable tax bills for many residents and suggested a one-year delay or phased approach. The mayor summarized the range of views and said the assessor would take additional time to consider council feedback. Administrators and the assessor committed to mail valuation notices and to meet with taxpayers during the vendor'provided review window.

Next steps: valuation notices will go out and property owners will have the vendor'specified review period to meet about values; the council signaled support for at least a one-year delay in rolling values into tax bills while staff prepares outreach and clarifies program eligibility.