Boothbay’s tax assessor told the selectmen on July 22 that their current state property valuation is working against them. Tax assessor Mike O’Donnell proposed making the system work for them by moving forward with an “equalization” or property revaluation.

O’Donnell has been the town’s tax assessor for the past four years. He works for John O’Donnell & Associates of New Gloucester. The firm specializes in property tax assessment, equalization and mapping.

O’Donnell described the town’s current $950 million state valuation as high. A new survey, he believes, would likely lower that figure and provide Boothbay with more state funds in revenue sharing and school funding. A lower state property valuation would lower the town’s county tax burden, according to O’Donnell.

The last Boothbay property revaluation occurred in 2004.

“The system has worked against you since 2007. And it’s likely to work even more against you in the next few years,” O’Donnell said. “The current figures negatively impacts the town’s share of the pie relative to everyone else’s in the county.”

The selectmen agreed with O’Donnell’s recommendation and directed the town manager to enter into negotiations with O’Donnell’s firm.

Besides the likelihood of lowering Boothbay’s state property valuation, an equalization would also correct mistakes made in the previous valuation, according to O’Donnell.

“There’s always winners and losers anytime a revaluation is done,” he said. “Some parts of the waterfront are overvalued and others are undervalued. Those will offset each other. I believe there are mistakes in both overvalued and undervalued property inland, too. The people have lived with those errors for 10 years, and now is a good time for another revaluation.”

Selectman Steve Lewis had concerns about a revaluation’s impact on non-waterfront property owners. Lewis recounted that Rockport’s recent revaluation resulted in a shift of the tax burden. He recalled an newspaper article reporting some waterfront properties’ taxes were reduced between $10,000 to $15,000.

“That’s a pretty hefty change,” Lewis said. “The people living inland had to make up for that loss. And I’m afraid that would happen here, too.”

O’Donnell assured him that the overall property revaluation would be good for the entire community. He also expects the tax rate to increase. And those property owners whose valuation rises would be hardest the hit.

“They would experience both a rise in their property value and (tax rate), but I don’t see that happening to a large segment,” O’Donnell said. “It’s been long enough between revaluations. This would eliminate some inequities in the current system so that everyone is paying what they owe.”

Selectman Dale Harmon also had concerns about a property revaluation, but concluded now is the right time to start thinking about it.

“Nobody even likes the sound of revaluation,” he said. “But it’s apt to bite us a lot harder if we put it off.”

O’Donnell said the property revaluation was a time-consuming process. The firm wouldn’t begin until 2016. And property owners wouldn’t feel the impact until fall 2017.

If the selectmen reach an agreement with O’Donnell’s firm, the two would discuss the property revaluation process at a later date. The selectmen also proposed a promotional video with O’Donnell explaining the process to be shown on Boothbay Region Community Television and other media platforms.