Consultant: Hollis assessments fall short of state standards; special meeting urged to appropriate revaluation funds

A consultant advising Hollis told the select board that the town’s property assessments are out of compliance with Maine’s assessing standards and urged officials to appropriate funds already raised so a planned revaluation can proceed.

The Presenter said the state’s minimum average assessment ratio is 70% and described the 'quality rating' measure that captures how widely individual assessment-to-sale ratios vary. "The minimum average assessment ratio is 70%," the Presenter said, explaining that the state calculates averages using the middle 70% of sales to avoid outliers.

The Presenter cited the most recent state sales study (based on July 2023–June 2024 transactions) showing Hollis’s average assessment ratio at roughly 52% with individual ratios ranging about 30% to 96% and a quality rating of about 19 — just under the state threshold of 20 that signals a poor quality rating. He warned a later study using 2025 sales could show worse results and said continuing to delay a revaluation risks growing inequities in the distribution of tax burden among property owners.

Board members and residents pressed for clarity about costs and practical steps. The Chair noted the town spent about $95,000 on a revaluation in 2002; the Presenter said his firm previously quoted roughly $106 per parcel and that current target pricing is about $115 per parcel, but emphasized rates are rising and vendor capacity is limited.

Residents raised special concerns about large commercial properties, naming the Poland Spring bottling facility (referred to in discussion as Primo/Primo Brands) and other special-use properties. The Presenter described past work in Poland and said that when owners will not cooperate assessors may use other public records and, if necessary, a statutory information request: "there's something called the 706 under Maine property tax law, and it basically allows assessors to send a 706 request to property owners asking them questions to help them come up with value," he said, adding that noncompliance can affect appeal rights.

The Presenter also explained the financial consequences of falling below the 70% threshold. He said tree-growth reimbursement from the state is reduced as the average ratio drops and that the town is already losing that reimbursement while the average remains low. He summarized the trade-off voters face: revaluation can produce tax decreases for some property owners and increases for others, but it equalizes the tax burden so spending decisions and exemptions operate on a fairer base.

On procedural issues, the Presenter said much of the revaluation workflow — letters to property owners, sales studies, and proposed values — is posted on a revaluations page and that residents can view proposed values and supporting sales studies online. He confirmed detailed building inventories currently are not in Hollis’s computer database, which makes the work more labor intensive, and said his firm would produce photos, sketches and a searchable property file during the revaluation.

The board confirmed it has engaged legal counsel and that appraisals or coordinated valuations for large commercial properties are being discussed in parallel. The Chair said the immediate next step is to secure appropriation approval at a special town meeting; the Chair also said the session would be summarized and the transcript published so residents can review the discussion.

The Presenter concluded he would remain available to answer follow-up questions and emphasized the firm’s preference for long-term relationships with towns that include annual assessing after a revaluation, rather than performing a one-off job and leaving the community to manage the aftermath.

The select board scheduled further action tied to the special town meeting to appropriate the previously raised funds for a revaluation.