Revaluation will push tax bills higher for most

Many homeowners in Bristol will face about a $400 increase in their property tax bills next year because of a recently completed revaluation, officials said Tuesday.
But an expected decline in the mill rate should lower motor vehicle tax bills enough to ease the pain for at least some property owners.
Revaluation notices will begin to go out on Monday, city Assessor Rich Lasky said, and nearly everyone will see a large increase in property values since the 2002 figures that have been used to figure municipal taxes for the past five years.
Though Lasky is still putting the final touches on the figures for the Oct. 1 Grand List values, it appears the average single-family home climbed 47 percent in value since 2002, slightly more than the 44 percent average increase in all property value.
Condominium owners will see values up an average of 67 percent while the owners of multi-family homes experienced an 81 percent average hike in assessments, Lasky said.
That means that condo owners and rental property owners are the most likely to see property tax bills shoot up in the coming year.
Commercial property generally rose a little less than residential, but retail space and apartments also saw rapid increases in value, Lasky said.
Industrial property "did a little bit less," Lasky said, as did smaller commercial buildings.
Overall, however, commercial property "really held its own" since 2002, which means that the shift in the tax burden toward homeowners won’t be nearly as severe as it was the last time Bristol did a revaluation.
The assessment for the average Bristol single-family house rose from $103,250 in 2002 to $151,300 this year. Assessments are pegged at no more than 70 percent of market value and typically closer to 67 percent in order to allow for error.
That means the market value of the average Bristol house, as of October 1, was $215,900.
The overall value of property in Bristol won’t be available until the Grand List is finished, probably in late February, but it appears the tally amounts to about $4.5 billion based on preliminary numbers.
The first round of taxes using the new values will be in July 2008.
Massachusetts-based Vision Appraisal is getting nearly $800,000 to handle much of the revaluation work in Bristol. It earned $37 for each property it inspects in town, a crucial step in determining how much every building, store, factory and more is worth.
Revaluation itself doesn't raise or lower property taxes, but updates frequently shift the tax burden between commercial and residential property taxpayers depending on whose property has risen most in value.
Though the shift in 2002 put a greater burden on homeowners, it isn't always that way.
In 1998, for example, most city homeowners saw their taxes shrink because values had gone down relative to commercial property during the previous decade.
Property owners should have their revaluation notices by the middle of next week. But they’ll be able to look up the information online by Tuesday, Lasky said.

Check out your neighbors
For the first time, Bristol property taxpayers will be able to check their assessments against the city’s entire database.
City Assessor Rich Lasky said that when the revaluation notices are printed early next week, the database containing assessment information for every property in town will be made available online for free.
From any computer, people will be able to check their own assessment information as well as that of neighboring and comparable property across town.
To find out more, check out the revaluation contractor’s website at www.visionappraisal.com.

What if the information is wrong?
Informal hearings to review possible problems will begin on December 3 and last until December 20. Property owners will have the chance to go over their assessments on weekdays, including some evenings.
The revaluation information going out in the mail will include details on how to appeal.
Formal hearings before the Board of Assessment Appeals will begin next year.

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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com