The Presque Isle City Council has set the property tax rate for the next year, with a slightly lower mill rate but not necessarily lower taxes.
At a special meeting Tuesday July 11, councilors adopted a mill rate of $25.60 per $1,000 of property value, a slight decrease from last year’s rate of $25.68.
Taxes are now due by Oct. 6, with unpaid taxes thereafter being assessed with a 7 percent interest rate.
The council opted for the basically-flat tax rate without including any overlay, or reserves in the budget, as the lowest option for the city.
But while the mill rate may be lower, people’s taxes may not necessarily also be lower than last year, said Presque Isle city assessor Lewis Cousins, explaining the dynamics of the tax rate and assessments.
While some residents will benefit from the state’s homestead exemption program, the city will see less revenue because of it.
The homestead exemption, available to permanent Maine residents, reduces a home’s municipal valuation for property taxes by up to $20,000 in 2017. For Presque Isle, the homestead exemption reduces the overall taxable value for the city by $10 million, Cousins said.
“Without that we could have had a mill rate a full percent lower,” he said.
“Overall, I don’t think anyone is going to see more than a 3 percent, maybe a 4 percent increase on an individual tax bill. But it does depend on the square footage of your house compared to the square footage of your accessories.”
City manager Martin Puckett said at the meeting that the mill rate will be something of a double edged sword,” due to the various adjustments, such as the homestead exemption.
“We can’t come out and say we’re reducing taxes,” Puckett said. “We can reduce the mill rate, but some people will see an adjustment even with the homestead exemption.”
