Local property owners will soon start hearing from field inspectors and data collectors as Harpswell embarks on a townwide property revaluation in March.
At the Select Board meeting on Thursday, Feb. 20, revaluation contractor Vision Government Solutions said it would mail introductory letters to property owners in late February, with field inspections starting the following week.
In September, the Select Board voted unanimously to enter into a $394,000 contract with the Massachusetts-based Vision to conduct Harpswell’s first revaluation in two decades, in concert with the town’s assessing department.
Not every property owner will be visited right away. Vision said it will start along Harpswell Neck Road at the Brunswick border and work its way south. The process will take more than a year, with the first tax bills based on the revaluation to be issued in August 2026.
“I hope everybody participates in this, because the better the data we collect, the better we know the data for everybody is accurate information for their fair share of taxes,” Harpswell Assessing Agent Debbie Turner told the Select Board.
The revaluation aims to update the assessed values of all Harpswell properties to reflect today’s market conditions. The goal is to ensure property taxes are distributed fairly based on the current value of homes and businesses.
A higher assessment doesn’t necessarily mean higher taxes. The impact will depend on the new tax rate set by the town and how each property’s updated valuation compares with the others. The town’s overall tax burden won’t change as a result of the revaluation.
Vision Project Manager Stephen Whalen said Harpswell residents can expect their property’s assessed value to have at least doubled since the last townwide revaluation in 2005. He said other communities, such as Portsmouth, New Hampshire, have seen their property values increase by 10% annually in recent years.
“I suspect our mil rate will go way down after this,” Select Board member David Chipman said. Harpswell property taxes are already among the lowest in Maine at $6.36 per $1,000 of valuation.
Vision uses multiple approaches to arrive at its valuations, Whalen said. It conducts site visits to gather information about each property’s exterior and seek property owners’ permission to examine the interior. It also analyzes data on recent sales of comparable properties.
Local building costs are researched from national sources and tested against the cost of new construction in the area, he said. Sales of older homes are analyzed to help establish local depreciation tables linked to building age and condition.
For commercial real estate, Vision will examine recent sales of investment properties and produce models that reflect current data on rental incomes, vacancies and operating expenses, Whalen said. Vacant land will be assessed based on analysis of recent sales of similar properties.
Vision will conduct informal hearings in which property owners can review the data relevant to their property, see and discuss comparable sales, and present any information they think should be considered in the property’s valuation, Whalen said.
He said residents can expect to receive four letters throughout the process, with the final letter containing their new valuation. Afterward, a formal appeal process will be available for property owners who disagree with Vision’s assessment.
Town officials said residents should cooperate with Vision’s field inspectors, who will carry proper identification and a letter signed by Turner, the assessing agent.
“Just so everyone knows, if we don’t do (the revaluation) accurately, the state will do it and charge us for it anyway, so it’s better that we do it ourselves,” Chipman said.
