Raymond assessor says revaluation will 'catch up' years of market gains; letters and hearings due late July–August

Craig Labelle, introduced to the board as Mr. Labelle and addressed later as Craig, told the Raymond Select Board on July 14 that the town's revaluation project is nearly finished and that property owners should expect valuation letters at the end of July or in early August. "We're nearing the final stages," Labelle said, adding that KRT Appraisal (the contracted firm) will host hearings around August 8–10 and will provide final values to the town in the first week of September.

Labelle walked the board and public through how property taxes and revaluations work, explaining that revaluations are revenue-neutral: budgets determine the total tax to be raised, while assessments determine how that total is apportioned across properties. He said Raymond's assessment-to-sale ratio fell from roughly 90% before the pandemic to about 45%, below the statutory minimum of 70%, which triggered the corrective revaluation. "We're kind of catching up for many years' worth of market appreciation all at once," he said.

KRT project manager Kevin Lean joined Labelle for technical details. Lean reported that fieldwork and data collection are essentially complete: KRT logged more than 750 callback appointments and interior inspections and has measured many properties. He said residential sales modeling is about 80% complete, commercial modeling is still in progress, and field reviews are roughly 80% finished.

Labelle stressed what owners should expect when they receive notices: the valuation letter will include a property record card and sales data; owners should not attempt to calculate their tax bill by multiplying the new assessed value by last year's mill rate. "Don't panic," the chair reiterated during the meeting, noting that the tax rate won't be known until budgets and final valuations are set. Labelle advised taxpayers to make appointments with KRT for hearings if they have questions or believe errors appear on their record cards.

Board members and residents asked about the mechanics and fairness of mass appraisal, how nearby high-end construction might affect long-time residents, and whether reassessments could create unintended hardship. Labelle acknowledged that revaluation does not provide a mechanism to account for owner financial hardship and said that other municipal programs on the back end (not part of the assessment process) exist to assist residents in need.

Timelines presented in the meeting: KRT expects to release valuation letters to owners late July–early August, conduct hearings through most of August (including phone hearings), turn final values over to the town around the first week of September, and for the board to consider tax-rate options at the Select Board meeting on September 15. Labelle and KRT encouraged property owners to review record cards online, attend hearings if they have questions, and make appointments for in-person or phone review sessions.