Kittery property taxes increasing less than 1%, $65 on average, year over year

Ian Lenahan, Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

KITTERY, Maine — Homeowners in town will see their property taxes rise less than 1% this fiscal year.

The owners of Kittery properties assessed last year for $500,000 will be required to pay $6,805 this fiscal year, a $65 year-over-year increase.

The town fiscal year 2024 tax rate, agreed to by the Town Council on Monday, will be $13.61 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The change reflects a $0.13 increase from last fiscal year, or a jump of 0.96%, from $13.48 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.

Kittery Town Hall
Kittery Town Hall

“I believe we’re currently still in sort of an escalatory inflationary period within the economy… so to be able to hold at less than 1% of an increase seems like quite a feat,” said vice chairperson Colin McGuire.

The Town Council unanimously approved the tax rate with an overlay amount of $163,630. The overlay is a municipal funding source used in the event of a property tax revenue shortfall.

A report to Town Manager Kendra Amaral from town assessor Paul McKenney noted that Kittery’s total taxable valuation base has increased by 2.02%.

“There was (a) $42,198,622 increase in real estate taxable valuation due to new construction, and building permits. Personal property increased by $1,594,600 (4.6%) and the Business Equipment Tax Exemption (BETE) valuation increased by $26,603,500 (185.8%),” he wrote. “This was due primarily to new leased equipment at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.”

The approved tax rate was the suggestion of town staff, which was mulling a tax rate recommendation in the range of $13.53 to $14.21 per thousand dollars of property valuation.

Councilors additionally approved the town charging an interest rate of 4% per annum on past due accounts and an interest rate of 2% on overpayment of property taxes. Property and personal taxes will be collected on Oct. 31, Feb. 15, 2024 and May 31, 2024, as set by the Town Council.

Town Council chairperson Judy Spiller and Councilor George Dow were not present for the vote.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kittery, Maine property taxes to rise less than 1%, $65 on average