For the past several weeks, the Sentry has been running “candidate
profiles,” for various local elected offices. The Sentry has pursued a
question-and-answer format. We print the candidates’ responses more or
less verbatim (we have edited some of the more long-winded answers due
to space constraints) to minimize the chances of misquoting a candidate
on a sensitive subject or taking their quotations out of contexts and
thereby changing their meaning. One of the costs of this format is that
there is little opportunity to critically evaluate the candidates'
responses. We work hard to ensure the Sentry is a source of
information, rather than misinformation.



In the Dist. 7 State Senate candidates’ profiles, Republican Kevin
Glynn made the statement, “Property taxes for some have been doubling
every five to seven years.”

Before the Sentry received Glynn’s responses, a reader alerted us that
the candidate had been making similar claims in other venues, including
at televised debates, and that the statements he was making were not
true. When Glynn sent us his questionnaire it was not qualified with
the term “for some.” We raised this concern, and he changed it. Since
that time, we have been in contact with the South Portland assessor’s
office to try to clear up the accuracy of the statement.



Here’s what we found.



While tax increases are not uniform throughout the city (such things as
improvements, additions and location of homes must be taken into
account) and some people have seen substantial tax increases, the
evidence seems to indicate the average homeowner has not seen anywhere
near a 100 percent tax increase in that time. Out of roughly 6,000
homes analized, 33 saw such increases, largely due to ”substantial”
additions.



In 2001, five years ago, the median home was valued at $89,100 with a
tax bill of $2,076 (with a homestead exemption, it would have been
$1,929). In 2006, the median home value increased 138 percent to
$212,500, while taxes on that property increased 34 percent to $2,783
(with homestead exemption: $2,613).



“However, assuming the median property value of around $89,100 which
was set back in 1993 and not changed until the 2002 revaluation…the
taxes on the same house would have been $1,746.36 [in 1993]. In 2006,
with no homestead, they would now be $2,783.75,” wrote City Assessor
Elizabeth Sawyer. “That is a 59 percent increase in taxes over a 13
year period, which would indicate a 4.5 percent increase in tax (with
all else being equal) per year...it would take sixteen years for the
tax amount to actually be double.”



We call on Candidate Glynn to share with us his source for his claim.



A letter-to-the-editor in this week's Sentry attempts to explain the
true burden of South Portland's debt on property tax payers. While
there are many aspects of this letter we could take issue with, we'd
like to put forth a different look at the numbers.



South Portland's total property value is $3.7 billion. The $30 million
in debt obligations amounts to less than one percent of the city’s
value (.81 percent to be exact). If a homeowner had a house valued at
$300,000 the same debt-to-property value would equal $2,400 worth of
debt. Many people carry that much in credit card debt, nevermind their
mortgage balance. One other thing about this letter. The per-pupil cost
of education in South Portland (including debt service for schools) is
$12,205. That is a number to consider for family with three children
concerned about paying their fair share of taxes.





–Ward Peck