Revaluation
The town has recently completed a revaluation of all properties on the island. This page contains information about the revaluation process and will be updated as more information becomes available.Click here to download a Google Earth file showing valuation information for all properties. You will need to have Google Earth installed on your computer.
Click here to download an Excel file of new property valuations.
Note: You may notice that in some cases, the total assessed value doesn't equal the sum of the building and land values. This is usually due to exemptions on the property. You can view all exemptions in the excel file, linked above.
The town has also produced color-coded maps of the new valuations, and of the estimated change in taxes. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open them. For best results, save the files to your computer first, then open outside your web browser. (For some reason, the text doesn't come through when you just open them in a browser.)
Color-coded map of new property values
Color-coded map of estimated taxes
Letter to Taxpayers from Long Island Selectmen
The town meeting has authorized a revaluation of all properties in the town, effective with the 2008-2009 tax bills. Your proposed valuation change for this property is as follows:
We can only estimate the new tax rate at this time. Next year’s budget is not known, nor are all the exemptions that will be applicable then. Also remember that it is possible that your valuation could change if the circumstances of your property change (for example: new construction, lot split, or demolition).
Please also find enclosed a letter from, Bob Konczal the consultant hired by the town to do the valuation work. His note gives some details on the valuation process.
Your new valuation is an approximation of the market value of your property. If you feel that it is not correct, please respond in writing to the town hall (address) or via email (address), stating the reasons for your opinion, what the value ought to be, and why. Mr. Konczal will respond to the correspondence sent by you.
As fellow taxpayers, we realize that property taxes are never a pleasant topic. Thank you for your patience and support in this project.
Long Island Board of Selectmen
Letter from Bob Konczal, CMA
My name is Bob Konczal. The Town Selectmen have retained me as a consultant to assist in managing the revaluation process for Long Island. I am a Certified Maine Assessor, have worked in many Maine towns, and have been President of the Maine Association of Assessing Officers. I am currently the fulltime Assessor in Freeport, and am Chairman of the Scarborough Board of Assessment Review.
I have some past experience with Long Island. I did the annual assessing work here from 1992 to 1997, resuming last year. I also have worked with your town attorney, Rob Crawford, in Scarborough and Freeport.
I have participated in many revaluations and it’s always a difficult process. This note will share with you some things about the project and address some myths that could arise about it.
First, a revaluation is completed by doing a computerized mass appraisal. That is, we attempt to create a pricing model that will predict what all the properties in town will sell for. This is not an exact science, it is an approximation. Hopefully our numbers are in the ballpark of what your property is worth. If you feel it is not, please respond in writing to the town, setting forth concrete reasons as to what the valuation should be. If we do make any changes it will have to be on a factual basis.
Next, the last revaluation was in 1992, which is a long time ago. This kind of time lag can result in properties getting further and further from market value, some more so than others. Thus, those who see an increase are ones that have been under-assessed compared to everyone else in recent years, while those who see a decrease have been over-assessed compared to everyone else.
In creating the pricing model, we used sales on the island and local listings; we also consulted (but did not directly use) sales on Chebeague and Peaks Island for background information.
One common myth going around right now is that the real estate market has collapsed. While that may be true elsewhere (and national averages are down somewhat), this is not the case in Southern coastal Maine so far. Yes, properties are staying on the market longer now, but if they are properly prepared they still can be sold for a good price. What is gone is a bit of the crazy stuff.
Another myth is that the town will somehow garner a ton of extra money from this process. In fact, the town will only collect in taxes the amount in the budget approved at town meeting. So total taxes collected will only go up by the same amount the budget went up, if at all. Now the previously under-assessed will contribute more, but the previously-overassessed will contribute less.
I’d like to say that I’ve gotten a lot of excellent help from the staff at town hall in this project. I have worked in a lot of towns, both rural and suburban, coastal and inland, and I can tell you that they run a pretty good ship. Nobody’s perfect, but they do a good job. I also want to thank you property owners for filling out the property surveys we sent out, and being patient with the process.