04-15-2009 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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• MINUTES OF THE ORONO BOARD OF APPEAL AND EQUALIZATION Wednesday, April 15, 2009 7:00 o'clock p.m. underpaid, but unfortunately he has resided in his house seven years and is in essence making up the difference and is on the upside. White stated that is one reason why they eliminated that cap because it did create inequalities. O'Donoghue indicated he would contact the Assessor's Office and speak with them. Murphy stated the City Council does look at trends and that the trends are down, which will create some tax breaks for the residents next year. McMillan commented the lag affect helps cities do their budgeting but is a negative for the property owners. O'Donoghue asked how true and accurate the predicted value is over time. Kunik indicated they are in the process of setting the estimated market value, which is based on sales that took place from October 1, 2007, to September 30, 2008, which is how they arrive at that number. O'Donoghue asked whether any study has been done on the previous years projected values. Kunik indicated the Assessor's Office is fairly close on their projected values to the actual values. Murphy noted there was a referendum passed by the Orono School District, which has also increased the residents' taxes. An audience member asked whether the Assessor's Office takes foreclosures into account. Stulc indicated they do not take foreclosures into account. Franchot noted the Assessor's Office takes arms length sales into consideration. The audience member commented that there were a number of residences where the sales price of the property was escalated. Then when the house goes.into foreclosure, it is not a true valuation when it sold. The resident questioned whether much research has gone into the Assessor's comparables to see whether they were part of a fraud. White stated unfortunately the Board of Equalization does not have time to discuss issues like that, but suggested the resident contact the Assessor's Office. 5. Mark and Bonnie Hector, 3265 Carman Road, PID 20- 117 -23 14 0011 Mrs. Hector indicated she has been involved in real estate for the past 14 years and has spoken with the Assessor's Office several times. Their house is located on a cove and is not directly on the lake. Assessor Stulc only provided them with comparisons for lakeshore on Casco Point, which is valued considerably higher than a cove lakeshore. Hector noted they cannot swim in the cove and they have low water levels with a mucky bottom. • Hector stated she pulled together six comparables, made some adjustments for busy roads and lakeshore that is located across a busy road, which does impact the value. Stulc spoke about acreage, and their PAGE 5