Property owners take note
IN THE CITY
With April 1, 2016 fast approaching it is timely to review some information that is important for all property owners to be aware of.
At the top of the list, April 1st of each year is date that ownership of all property subject to taxation is “fixed.” The records here in the assessing office at City Hall, and the tax bill generated in July of 2016, will be based on ownership on this date. If you have sold a business, mobile home, or other real or personal property by bill of sale, rather than a recorded deed, it is very important that you notify this office in order to have it removed from your assessment. It is also important to notify us if you have demolished or removed any buildings without a demolition permit, as we have no other way of knowing.
April 1st is also the date that homestead and veteran applications are due. Anyone who has owned and occupied as their primary residence, a home in Maine for the past 12 months qualifies for the homestead exemption. If your primary residence is currently in Presque Isle, you qualify to receive the exemption in Presque Isle, without regard to age. The application must be filed with the assessors by April 1st and you only need to apply once during the entire time you live at the approved address.
Veterans who served during a federally recognized war period and have reached the age of 62 qualify for the veteran’s exemption. As with the homestead, an application from along with a copy of the DD 214 must be filed by April 1st. Veterans widow’s also qualify.
For 2016, the homestead exemption has been increased by the Legislature, to $15,000, and the veteran’s exemption remains at $6,000. These exemption amounts are subtracted from our assessed value of your property and the tax will be calculated on the remaining value. The 2016 reduction in tax is anticipated to be approximately $400 for the homestead and approximately $160 for the veteran’s exemption.
The assessing department is in the process of finalizing the contract to bring our assessing records online. All the mapping will be based on the 2014 maps and the assessment cards will be current with any ownership or valuation changes updated as of April 1st each year. We are looking forward to delivering this new service.
Last fall Marria and I, visited and updated our records on 285 residential and commercial properties, to better reflect their current status. We plan to perform many more site visits this year and truly appreciate all the cooperation we have received from property owners. Our goal is to be accurate and current in our records so we can be equitable in our assessments. It is our responsibility to discover and assess all property, real and personal, according to its just value, and it is the property owner’s responsibility to provide all the necessary information to the assessors.
In 2015, 151 properties underwent some form of ownership change. Overall, there were 83 sales that were considered valid, or arm’s length. The average price these properties sold for was $136,553, or $5,779.00 more than our assessed value. The average ratio between sale price and assessed value was 95 percent when calculated across all classes of property.
We, in the assessing office, encourage all property owners to stop in and review the records we have on file regarding your property.
Lewis Cousins is Presque Isle’s assessor. He can be reached at 760-2714 or via email at lcousins@presqueisleme.us.
