Hooksett Banner : revaluation

While rate is lower, property values are higher, pushing bills up

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:35:00 GMT

BY GINGER KOZLOWSKI

Hooksett’s tax rate is 8 percent lower than last year’s rate. However, due to revaluation of the town’s properties, many homeowners are likely to see a higher tax bill just in time for Christmas.

The current rate was finally set on Wednesday, Nov. 26, having been delayed several weeks by the revaluation process. Bills were expected to be mailed out in the following week, said Evelyn Horn at Hooksett Town Hall.

The new rate is $20.82 per $1,000 of property value, while last year’s rate was $22.68.

The town portion went down by 79 cents, from $6.20 to $5.41. The local school portion was reduced by 57 cents, from $11.21 to $10.64. The state school portion shrank by 60 cents, going from $2.72 to $2.12. The county portion is the only segment that saw an increase, going from $2.55 last year to $2.65 this year.

The total amount of money to be raised in Hooksett after voting last spring is $33,088,441, said Christine Soucie, finance director for the town of Hooksett.

That’s $3,215,955 more than last year’s amount of $29,872,485, a 10-percent increase in spending.

Lower rate, higher bill
Will this mean a lower tax bill? With property values reassessed, it may not. If a home were assessed at $225,000 last year, that property owner would have received a bill for $5,103.

If that home is now assessed at $278,800, the property owner would receive a bill for $5,787.96, a $684.96 increase, or 13 percent higher.

Compounding the problem is that the spring bill is based on half the previous year’s bill. The current bill is more than half because it makes up for what wasn’t paid in the first half.

A homeowner would see a reduction in the tax bill only if their property stayed the same in value or was reduced in value. In a typical revaluation, one third stay the same, one third go up and one third go down.

Values in Hooksett were assessed as of April 1, so dropping market values may not have been reflected.

Town clerk and tax collector Leslie Nepveu said she’s been getting a lot of calls from people wondering if their bills are correct, even from businesses.

She noted that Target’s bill, which was $120,368 for the first half of the year, jumped to $215,993 in the current bill. RK Associates, which owns the plaza with Kmart and Dollar Tree and which has been flooded several times, went from $47,930 to $128,087.

She said they called to say, “How can you say it’s worth that when it’s under water all the time?”

Residents react
Jeff Lebreque and his family all live in Hooksett.

“Everyone I know, their bill went up $800,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

He questioned where the money is going more than his property value.

“My pet peeve in this whole thing is they always do this right around the holidays,” he said. “I budgeted for my tax bill to be this much. Now it’s (up) more than $800?”

Chris Pearson lives near Heritage Estates, and his property tax also rose by about $800. “My property value went up pretty substantially, but I thought the tax rate would go down to offset it,” he said.

Pearson is a member of the Hooksett Zoning Board, but still doesn’t see where all the money is going.

“If I knew where this money was going, I wouldn’t have a problem, but I don’t know where this goes,” he said.

James Sullivan, a School Board member, said he is OK with his tax bill, but wonders why the value of homes has increased so much with the mortgage crisis and the economy.

“What I have heard is: Why are the houses’ values increased so much in a time when, nationally, home values have decreased? It’s all so confusing.”

Ronald Dion saw an increase of $300 in his tax bill, but doesn’t blame local government.

“I don’t believe we should complain when we are the ones who elect representatives who pledge to keep the same antiquated levy,” he said. “As a result, we continue to underfund our departments and are failing to maintain our infrastructure.”

Some cuts made
A good half million dollars were cut from this year’s school budget, according to School Board Chairman Maura Ouelle.

“We did return $505,950 to the taxpayers of the town from the 2007-08 budget cycle, which is reflected in part by what we see for a rate this year,” she said.

Revaluations sent, tax bills to follow

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:12:00 GMT

BY LAUREN SAUSSER

Hooksett homeowners received their revalued property quotes last week and have until Oct. 24 to appeal the new value to the town’s property assessor.

Before new cards were sent last week, about 40 residents turned out to a meeting hosted by the state Department of Revenue that briefly outlined the revaluation process that occurs in every New Hampshire town once every five years.

Hooksett resident Greg Weir was one of about 40 concerned local homeowners who attended the informational meeting. He, like many others, was concerned that that a potentially higher property value will increase the amount he owes in taxes.

“Are our taxes going to go up?” he asked. “Are they going to skyrocket? (The revaluation process) is based on a software program that has nothing to do with the stock market. It doesn’t have feelings. It doesn’t give a hoot.”

Hooksett is currently at the tail-end of the state-mandated five-year revaluation process of all property. The new revalutions statements declare the current fair market value of homes and businesses as of April 1, 2008 – the beginning of the state’s tax year.

David Hynes, a representative from the state Department of Revenue, was on hand to answer questions and briefly explain the process.

Hynes said revaluations are generally emotional because residents like Weir worry that a higher property value will equate to a higher tax bill. “Everyone wants a milliondollar house, but they only want to pay taxes on $10,000,” Hynes said. “That’s just not how it works.”

In fact, Hynes explained to several concerned residents, the dollar figure on the individual tax bills have less to do with the updated property values than it does with the town budget that was set last spring.

“Your taxes are relative to what you, as taxpayers, allowed (the town) to spend,” he said. A general rule of thumb that has historically applied to revaluations is one-third of property values increase, another third stay the same and the final third decrease.

Hooksett Town Councilor George Longfellow attended the Oct. 15 meeting and said everyone at that meeting is wondering which third their property will fall into.

“It’s money. You’re into people’s pockets and that gets emotional,” Longfellow said. “Everyone assumes just because their assessment goes up they will owe more taxes. But this money is already spent. It’s what they approved last spring.”

Tax bills are expected to be sent later next month.

Tax bills going out late

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:13:00 GMT

BY JENN McDOWELL

Not only will Hooksett taxpayers be getting their tax bills in the mail a bit late, likely in November, according to Town Administrator David Jodoin, they’re also getting a notification prior to the tax rate setting of the new value of their homes and businesses.

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue requires towns to conduct a revaluation of all their commercial, industrial and residential property every five years, and this year, it’s Hooksett’s turn.

As the town’s assessing department wraps up its research and data collection, the setting of the tax rate will be a little later this year than usual, Jodoin said.

The final tax rate will likely not be set until late fall, Jodoin said.

The Town Council is hosting an informational meeting for Hooksett taxpayers on Wednesday, Oct. 15, in their chambers at the Town Hall at 6 p.m.

David Hynes of the DRA will give a presentation and facilitate discussion on the revaluation and how it affects individual property values and taxes.

Revaluations take place in all New Hampshire towns at least every five years. The goal of a revaluation is to assess values of property so that those values are as close to the market value of the property as possible – ideally at 100 percent. After all the information is collected, it is sent to the DRA, which calculates that percentage.

Currently, said contracted assessor Todd Haywood, the town’s property is being assessed and taxed at 78 percent.

While revaluations typically raise the value of a home (and therefore, the amount of taxes that have to be paid on it), they also increase the total value of all the property in town, which could result in less taxation per thousand of assessed value.

Haywood said he and the town’s assessment team have been assessing one-fifth of the town’s property each year since the last revaluation in 2003, measuring homes and businesses, analyzing sales and poring over town records to check for building permits for improvements.

“We want to verify that the physical data you have on file was correct,” Haywood said.

Any improvements made before April 1, 2008, will go on this year’s tax bill. Anything after that will be factored into the 2009 tax bills.

Currently, Haywood said, there are a little over 500 commercial/ industrial properties in Hooksett in addition to 5,500 residential properties. The town’s total value will be used in the setting of the tax rate, which is why the assessment needs to be completed first.

Businesses and homeowners will receive notices in the mail of what their new property assessment value is in the next couple of weeks, ideally before the Oct. 15 informational meeting, Haywood said.

When the DRA sets the tax rate, that 2008 rate will be used in conjunction with individual property taxes to calculate tax bills, which Jodoin said would likely be due around Christmas.