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The taxable value of Harpswell’s residential and commercial properties rose 49% in the first townwide reappraisal in two decades, but town leaders say that doesn’t automatically mean higher tax bills.
After receiving the new valuation figures, the Harpswell Select Board set a new, lower tax rate of $4.84 per $1,000 of taxable value on Wednesday, Aug. 12. That’s down from the previous $6.66 rate and should, they said, leave the average tax bill largely unchanged — with the exception of mobile homes and seasonal cottages, which may see steeper hikes.
“I’m expecting that everybody’s taxes will be pretty much the same,” Select Board member David Chipman said. For property owners whose bills go up because of a larger-than-average increase in taxable value, he said, “my message is fairness. We have to treat everyone the same or the state will step in and do it for us and send us the bill.”
The new tax rate is 27% lower than the previous one. The impact on individual tax bills will vary according to the property and any exemptions for which owners qualify.
The town’s tax commitment — the total to be raised from property taxes — will rise from $16,746,294 in 2025 to $18,159,568 in 2026, officials said Wednesday.
That’s an increase of 8.4%, but officials say it is only what is needed to cover the municipal budget (37% of total tax billing), public schools (53%), Cumberland County (9%), and a larger-than-usual reserve budgeted to cover tax abatements (1%).
“By law, we cannot raise any more money than we need,” Chipman said.
The new values are the culmination of an 18-month reappraisal effort that had property valuation experts visit each of Harpswell’s roughly 5,100 residential and commercial properties to align assessed values with their true market values.
The town hired Vision Government Solutions to conduct the door-to-door revaluation after surging real estate prices rapidly outpaced taxable valuations. Under the Maine Constitution, a town’s assessed valuation must align with each property’s “just” — i.e., market — value.
The new values were determined by taking stock of the size, features and condition of each residential and commercial property — inside and out — and reviewing recent sales of similar properties. The town notified property owners of the new values in mid-July via letters and a searchable database, and then gave owners who wanted to challenge or better understand their valuation two weeks to schedule individual meetings with Vision representatives.
Individual property owners will continue to be eligible for reductions provided by the homestead exemption and smaller exemptions for groups such as veterans.
While the two-week window for questioning the new valuations ended on July 29, property owners may still challenge their assessments by contacting the town assessment office and filing an application for an abatement.
Town officials are still working to finalize tax bills, but expect them to be available online next week, with printed bills to be mailed at the same time. Payments are due in two installments: Sept. 15 and Dec. 15.
Owners who are seeking an abatement should still pay their current bill. They will be eligible for a refund if they succeed, said Debbie Turner, who leads the town assessment office.
“They have to prove to us why their assessment is inaccurate,” she said, noting that the final decision is up to the Select Board, which also serves as the Board of Assessors.
During their formal meeting and in individual interviews afterward, board members said they were generally satisfied with the revaluation, but expressed concern for lower-income property owners.
“Mobile homes saw a pretty substantial increase, and those people don’t always have the most money,” said board member Matt Gilley. “There are a lot of people on fixed incomes.”
At the other end of the economic spectrum, the owners of seasonal cottages — many of them waterfront retreats for people who live elsewhere but come to Harpswell for the summer — may also see increased taxes because of soaring market values.
Harpswell has historically had one of the lowest property tax rates in Maine because of its large proportion of costly coastal property and limited array of municipal services. The new values are a product of the first townwide revaluation done since 2005.
A partial revaluation in 2022 also lowered the tax rate because of an overall increase in market value. Mobile homes and seasonal cottages were not included in that reassessment — which meant that their new valuation was the first done since 2005. Turner said she was unsure why those properties were left out.
Officials said that property owners who fear not being able to afford their tax bills should file a formal appeal with the town. The Select Board will hold nonpublic meetings with individual property owners, adjust values if warranted, and provide hardship abatements to those who lack the resources to pay their bills.
“If you can’t afford your taxes, come and see us,” Chipman said. “The last thing we want to do is tax someone off their property.”
Rapidly rising property values create another problem, Chipman said — one town government can’t do much about.
“The problem with property values going up is that locals can’t afford to buy it,” said Chipman, a Harpswell native whose family has lived in the town for numerous generations. “People are not being taxed out of town, but they’re being valued out of town.”
“That’s been a growing problem for us, but what can we do?” he said. “That’s the market.”
