Winthrop prepares full town revaluation; assessor says town at roughly 59% of market value

Rob Dussy, Winthrop’s municipal assessor, told the town council on June 1 that the town is launching a full revaluation — the first comprehensive reassessment since about 2008 — and aims to set assessments at market value as of April 1, 2027.

Dussy said his team will begin field reviews this summer, visibly identify themselves to residents and perform roadside and on‑site verifications where needed. The staffing plan calls for four to five field members canvassing properties through September, followed by in‑office work to migrate assessment records from Vision to TRIO software and to build new land and building valuation schedules from recent sales.

The central reason for the project, Dussy said, is the town’s current certified ratio: “Our certified ratio is about 59% of market value,” he told the council. “The state minimum assessing standard is 70, so we are failing.” He added the revaluation will use arms‑length sales from the prior three years and a land‑residual approach to separate land and building values, and that the assessor’s office will exclude anomalous sales that do not reflect the local market.

Why it matters: under Maine law, the certified ratio affects how much homestead relief the town can grant. Dussy explained that the lower ratio reduces the dollar amount of homestead exemption the town can apply, which in practice can create a perceived loss of relief for homeowners even if the town’s overall tax levy does not change.

Residents and council members pressed Dussy on the practical effects. Several waterfront homeowners and public commenters said the 2008 revaluation had forced some residents to sell. “It doubled my property taxes, forced me to sell, and I couldn’t afford to stay,” said Sandy Steel, a resident who urged the council to minimize harm to long‑term residents and to ensure transparency in methodology and appeals.

Dussy described the grievance and appeal process: property owners will receive notice with their proposed new value and an estimated mill‑rate impact, will have access to one‑on‑one hearings before commitment, and can still file formal grievances under the usual appeal deadlines after tax commitment. He emphasized the town’s goal to provide mill‑rate context with the new valuation notices so taxpayers are not left guessing how assessed value translates to a tax bill.

On field access, Dussy said assessors will not enter private homes without permission; visits are primarily roadside inspections, knock‑and‑talk checks, and measurements where allowed. He also outlined how waterfront values and outliers will be handled: different bodies of water will get separate sales studies, and extreme sales that do not fit market indicators will be set aside so they do not skew the overall valuation model.

What happens next: Dussy said the field work starts this summer, the sales analysis will continue through the winter, and the new values will be refined up to the April 1, 2027 levy date. The council and staff said they will provide public outreach, hearings and frequent updates so residents can review proposed values and ask questions before values are committed.

The council did not vote on any formal policy at the meeting; staff said they will return with timeline details and public‑engagement materials as the field work begins.