Rockport and Camden see mil rates rise, property taxes to increase
CAMDEN and ROCKPORT — Most taxpayers knew it was coming: A rise in property taxes following voter approval of locally-funded new middle school. Kerry Leichtman, tax assessor for both towns, said Aug. 22 that tax bills will be in the mail this weekend for Rockport property owners, “probably arrive Monday.”
A news release from the town of Rockport Thursday afternoon said two significant developments will increase the Rockport mil rate by 9.02 percent over last year: The school’s portion of the tax pie and the decreased revenue from the State of Maine business equipment tax refund programs.
The mil rate is increasing this year from 14.75 to 16.08.
A mil rate is the unit used to calculate how much to tax a piece of property and represents the amount per $1,000 of the assessed value of that property.
For instance, a home assessed in Rockport at $250,000 this past year was taxed $3,687.50 under the 14.75 mil rate, or $14.75 per $1,000 of valuation. This year, the taxes on that home will be $4,020.
In Rockport, the mil rate has fluctuated over the past decade. in 2006, it was 9.06; in 2003, it was 15.95.
In Camden taxes on a home assessed at $250,000 were $3,595, based on a $14.38 mil rate. This year, it will be taxed $3,720 under that town’s new mill rate of 14.88, said Leichtman.
In Rockport, the rise in the mil rate — or taxes — “reflects a lot of numbers moving around, and unfortunately, the town really can’t impact a lot of them,” Leichtman said, in the release. “And while Rockport saw modest growth in real estate values during the past year, changes outside local government control have caused a 9.02 percent increase in the town’s mil rate, to $16.08 from last year’s $14.75. That translates into a tax increase of $356.97 per year on the average property valuation of $268,400.”
In Camden and Rockport, the pie by which the taxes are split include three governmental entities: Municipal, county, and public schools. In Rockport, 67 percent of the property taxes go to funding the elementary, middle and high schools of School Administrative District 28 and the Five Town CSD (Camden Hills Regional High School).
“While the CSD’s portion actually decreased slightly from last year, when you factor in the costs of the new middle school, MSAD 28’s portion drove a 11.27 percent increase, from $9,185,000 to $10,219,894,” said the town.
Rockport also said that two state programs, BETR and BETE, which provide tax relief to businesses have changed, subsequently reducing revenue by almost 20 percent, said Leichtman.
“This loss of revenue drives up the mil rate,” he said.
Businesses who participate in the BETR (Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement) program pay their property taxes to the town and receive a reimbursement from the state for most of what they paid. Businesses in the BETE (Business Equipment Tax Exemption) program get exempted from paying anything to the town. The state then reimburses the town 50 percent of the tax revenues not received.
The state has assessed Camden’s total 2018 property value at $1.3 billion and Rockport at $947 million.
Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
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