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Commissioners take multiple tax-abatement appeals under advisement after lengthy hearings on island and shoreland valuations
Summary
Commissioners heard lengthy testimony on island and shoreland tax-abatement appeals (Kaufman, Ke/Gary, Dash/Duro). State revenue staff defended their mass-appraisal method and admitted a small number of mapping/data errors; the commission deferred decisions to a working session to review evidence.
Penobscot County commissioners on March 18 heard extended tax-abatement testimony from property owners challenging 2025 revaluations and then took the matters under advisement pending further review.
The meeting opened with a Kaufman abatement for a 6.25‑acre island parcel whose assessed land value rose sharply for 2025. County staff and state revenue service representatives described how a sales-ratio study and a 20% credit for lack of access were applied; commissioners debated whether the state’s waterfront valuation metric was appropriate for a partial‑island parcel and whether the applicant had supplied sufficient comparable sales. Commissioners withdrew a motion to act immediately and scheduled a working session to review documents before reaching a decision.
Later, Gary…
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