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Keeping tax values current As the housing market changes, many people are asking about the taxable valuation of their home. We will attempt to explain how the city assesses the value of property and how that relates to tax rates and tax bills. First, we need to explain some assessment terms: Taxable valuations, Tax Rate, and Tax Levy
Saco's taxable valuation for 2008 was ($2,051,483,000) at 91% assessment level. Our tax levy was $27,530,901.86 and our tax rate was $13.42. Now let's shatter a few myths... Myth number #1: The higher the assessment values, the more money the City gets. Not true. Let's say our tax levy stayed the same, but our net taxable valuations increased, then our tax rate would be lower. For example, if the net taxable valuation was $2,254,376,923 instead of $2,051,483,000, and the tax levy remained the same at $27,530,901, then our tax rate would have been $12.21. As the assessment values go up, the tax rate drops and the taxes collected stays the same. Myth number #2: If the Assessor lowers my assessment then my taxes will go down. Not true. For example if we lower our next taxable values by 10% (to $1,846,334,700) and the tax levy remained unchanged at $27,530,901, then the tax rate would be $14.91. Assessment History: As the City of Saco Assessor, it is my job is to administrator the State of Maine tax laws and to ensure that all Saco property owners receive a fair assessment. Every year, the Maine Bureau of Taxation measures assessment performance. The Bureau of Taxation uses two "minimum assessment standards" to measure performance. Those standards are:
The State of Maine calls for an assessment ratio to be no lower than 70% of fair market value and no higher than 110% of fair market value. The City of Saco's assessment level was 91% as of April 1, 2008. Assessment Equity: Most Assessors will tell you that the assessment equity is more important than the measurement of the assessment level. Assessment equity means that two properties of the same value should be assessed the same, there by, paying the same amount of tax. In the above referenced example, all homes worth $200,000 would be uniformly assessed at $182,000. The State's standard for assessment equity is a maximum variation of 20%. The City of Saco has an equity rating of 9. The lower the equity rating number, the fairer the assessment is. The City of Saco's equity ratio for April 1, 2008 was 91/9. Determining assessment equity is where the real work is. What we do each year is to review all "good" sales in the city to make sure we treat all classes of property at the same assessment level. For example are our older homes assessed at the level as new homes. Another example is: do we treat rural homes on the assessment level as in town homes. One of the advantages of annual updates is those equity adjustments are small and there are not major jumps in assessment from year to year. As you can see, assessment is measured by two standards, assessment level and assessment equity. As to the best of my knowledge the City of Saco has never, failed to meet the State of Maine's minimum assessment standards. These standards have been in place since 1975. The Minimum Assessment Standards have impacted cities and towns in a variety of ways. The one to note is the ten year revaluation clause found in the State Constitution. Prior to the state standards, most cities and towns would conduct a municipal wide revaluation every 10 years. This usually resulted in a Taxpayer Revolt. Then things would calm down. Assessors would use the same assessed values for the next 10 years plus add new homes etc to the tax base. This system was OK but equity would get worse every year and as market values rose the assessment level dropped. The biggest impact we have seen as assessors is we now is that we need to change all values more often than we have had to in the past. In the most recent past (prior to 2006) values rose so fast a total city wide revaluation only had a 3 year shelf life. The average price to hire an outside appraisal contractor to conduct a city wide revaluation would approximately $650,000. And again, this revaluation would be obsolete within three years time. One would argue that this is a very poor return on an investment. So what to do? Answer: In-house updates. Most communities now expect the Assessor to do what is necessary to maintain equity and assessment level by using city staff with some outside services. This term has come to be known as In-House updates. In-House updates solve two things. First conducting in-house updates aids helps to extend the life of a revaluation for years and secondly the community will always meet the minimum standards without spending massive amounts of money needed for another revaluation. The City of Saco has been an in-house operation since 1986. The last time we had a city-wide revaluation was I believe was 1977. Recent assessment history in Saco I was appointed as the Assessor in Saco in 1991. The last In-House valuation was done in1986. Assessment values after 1991 were flat. Real growth in property was slow and changes in city-wide values were not necessary. Values began to climb around 1994, but at a very slow pace. I knew at some point we would need to change all our values as the assessment level was heading downward. From 1996 onward, values really began to climb quickly. Around the year 2000, I started looking for a Computerized Mass Appraisal System that would move the City forward. In 2001 we installed Vision Appraisal System. From 2001 to 2002 we moved all our data into the Vision system, and in 2002 field checked the data. New values were set in 2003 but not at full value. We converted our value from what would have been 63% to a 75% assessment level in 2003, 85% in 2004 and from 2004 to 2008 we have maintained a 91% assessment level. In the past, recessions have come and gone however, this current recession is the first one in all of my 33 years as an Assessor that values have actually dropped, not just stopped going up. Due to the current status of the economy, I have a decision to make regarding the upcoming fiscal year assessment. We have all heard about the loss in property values during our most recent recession and you have also probably seen the figures for the median sales price of homes nationwide. Here is the "median sales price" data for Saco (for the past 6 years):
As you can see I can choose to not lower any values this year because our assessments are still below the true market value. Or in order to maintain a constant assessment level of 91% by an average decrease in 4% range in our total assessment. Under no circumstances would I recommend to increase values.
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Services • Get a form • Pay city bills • Register your car • Register your snowmobile • Register your boat • Get a fishing license • Pay traffic violations • Search marriage/death archives Information • Find your ward • City Hall telephone numbers • More information  GIS MAPPING You can now research property lots through the city's Geographic Information System (GIS) maps. Just follow this link. Note: This will take you off the City of Saco website. 
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