Following the revaulation of all property in the Town of Rockport, and concluding hearings requested by citizens to review and/or dispute their new assessments that were issued at the end of July, Rockport Assessor Kerry Leichtman has set 2025-2026 mil rate at 13.65, down 4.2 percent from the 2024-2025 mil rate of 14.25.

The mil rate is the math unit used to calculate how much to tax a piece of property to fund voter-approved budgets. 

A mil is the tax per $1,000 in assessed value. For example, a home with an assessed value of $150,000 and a mil rate of 20 ($20 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value) would pay $3,000 in annual property taxes.

Those property taxes are what fund the various budgets that voters approved at annual town meeting in June.

Leichtman is responsible for adding the municipal budget, as well as Rockport's share in supporting Knox County government, the Five Town CSD (Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport ownership of Camden Hills Regional High School), the School Administrative District (Camden and Rockport shared ownership of their K-8 schools) and the Mid-Coast Solid Waste Corporation (Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport).

The 2025-2026 municipal budget budget is $11.4 million;

SAD 28 and Five Town CSD 2025-2026 budget assessments for Rockport totaled $12.5 million; and,

The Knox County 2025 assessment for Rockport was $1.5 million.

Those combined numbers were are divided by the town’s total taxable valuation, along with calculating in other fiscal information, such as state revenue sharing and tax increment financing numbers. With that figure, Leichtman has set the 2025 mil rate and property tax bills are now being sent to Rockport taxpayers.

"Taxpayers will be receiving their tax bills over the next few days in advance of our customary October 15th due date for the first property tax payment," wrote Town Manager Jon Duke, in his Manager's Report that is sent to the Rockport Select Board prior to its Sept. 8 meeting.

"All record cards have been updated in the assessor’s online database posted on the town’s website," Duke wrote. "Please visit the Revaluation Resources Tab on the Town’s website for more information on the revaluation process."

Rockport’s mil rate has fluctuated over the past decade, and reflects ever-changing factors; in 2006, it was 9.06; in 2003, it was 15.95.

More recently, the mil rate has been:

2023, 12.65

2022, 15.45

2021, 17.05

2020, 16.81