Islanders wear many hats and that is why people like Philip Conkling call us gifted generalists. In the spirit of full disclosure readers of Working Waterfront should know that I am a Cumberland Town Councilor representing the islands; a trustee of the Island Institute; an employee of MSAD 51; a freelance writer; a community activist; a descendant of the first settlers of Great Chebeague; a year-round resident of Great Chebeague and most importantly a wife and mother. This op-ed piece should not be construed as representing the thoughts of anyone other than myself.
We have an insidious serpent in our midst. We don’t know when or where it will strike, but rest assured it will strike and when it does it will be swift and the pain will radiate throughout our communities. It will disguise itself as a neutral entity that is supposed to make all right with the world. But those of us who have been exposed to the havoc it wreaks, feel our skin crawl when we hear it is in the neighborhood. The State of Maine is supposed to protect its citizens from harm, but the irony is that it is the State who mandates that this monster be unleashed in each community at least every 10 years. When it has done its work “for sale” signs dot the landscape. Trophy houses loom over the shore that was once the haunt of fishermen baiting trawls. When the havoc is finished so is the community, as it is known. The State revaluation process currently holds the future of Great Chebeague Island in Casco Bay in its grasp.
As a member of the Cumberland Town Council I have seen how the revaluation process, designed by the State of Maine and supported by our own Constitution, works first hand. It is arbitrary and convoluted. People in the know take it for granted that it is not an exact science and it is not always accurate. It puts all of the power in the hands of one person. There are no checks and balances. The Town decides to have a revaluation usually on the advice of the assessor, who brings in a slick-talking salesman with a Power Point presentation. The man who may have been mentored by the salad master man makes promises that the assessor knows the appraisal company has no intention of keeping. Contracts are signed that have clauses that should make the system “fair and equitable.” When it is discovered that parts of the contract that could actually result in real differences in the land values were not fulfilled, councilors quickly describe the promises as boilerplate contract language. Even the failure to consider something as important as being familiar with the topography of every parcel of land in Town is not considered an issue. But those of us who live on the shore know that sand beaches, bluffs, gullies, mud flats and deep water affect the desirability of a parcel. Why doesn’t the assessor?
The State law dictates the process and provides the assessor with “flexibility” to interpret the data, as he/she feels appropriate. The data doesn’t have to be statistically sound. Case in point – there are 202 waterfront properties on Chebeague and only 61 on Cumberland Foreside. The assessment for the waterfront properties on Chebeague – all 202 – was based on one sale. That’s right, folks – one sale. The assessor has the ability to go back three years to develop a statistically significant pool of sales to develop a “fair” comparable. In Cumberland the assessor went back three months when looking at waterfront on Chebeague. The average waterfront lot on Chebeague increased by an average 111 percent or some cases as much as $7,000 overnight, based on one sale; and because of so few historical sales the assessor went back three months rather than three years. But just to remind you this is legal in the State of Maine. I don’t mean to imply that anyone broke the law. But does that make it right? Does that make it “fair and equitable” to those 202 landowners?
The State provides for a multi-step appeal process. But let’s face it: we aren’t all created equal and some of us understand the system better than others. That creates an inequitable system whereby the person with money can hire an appraiser or an attorney to present a case while the little guy once again is left with no place to turn. The law does not suggest that that the assessor reviews the property with the homeowner looking for ways to lower his assessment. What do you think usually happens?
Right now the base land value for a minimum 1.5 acre building lot on Chebeague is about $275,000 which was the price of the one four-acre comparable. Recently a 12-plus-acre parcel of land went on the market and sold for $200,000. The parcel was assessed by the Town, sight unseen, for $418,000, based on a statistical model developed with Vision Appraisal the Town’s Massachusetts consultant. The landowner had two independent appraisals completed that resulted in a land value of $283,000. Will this new information be factored into the assessment equation? Your guess is as good as mine, but I hope waterfront owners will use this information when they meet with the assessor during the formal hearing process to appeal their assessments.
Elected officials in Maine towns are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to the State mandated revaluation process. We all face moral, ethical and legal dilemmas when we become embroiled in this process. Reform of the revaluation process must be included as part of any comprehensive property tax reform.
My father was a great admirer of Thomas Paine, an essayist of the Revolutionary period. I grew up hearing Paine quoted almost as frequently as the Bible. Paine wrote, “These are the times that try men’s souls” during one of the darkest hours of the Revolution. It is time Maine public officials did a little soul searching and work to fix a system that is unfair to many of the citizens they represent.