#Middletown officials and the Town Council pledge Monday to protect residents and work hard to minimize the impacts of Revaluation 2024. Anyone with concerns about their revaluation is reminded to set a meeting no later than March 13.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
TOWN PLEDGES TO MINIMIZE REVAL IMPACTS,
PROTECT RESIDENTS
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (MARCH 4, 2024) – The Town of Middletown wants to minimize the impact of Revaluation 2024.
Hearing concerns in the community after notices were mailed last week about the ongoing state mandated property evaluation process, town officials reiterated Monday night that just because an assessment was up sharply, that didn’t necessarily mean the same for a tax bill.
They also reiterated that Middletown offered a number of valuable tax programs to help make the community more affordable. This included the opportunity to meet with Tax Assessor George Durgin privately to make the case they can’t afford to pay more and to freeze their taxes.
Town Administrator Shawn J. Brown said the town will be rolling out more information and data in coming days to help smooth concerns about the impacts from the property revaluation process.
“We’re going to do everything we can to protect the residents, that’s what we’re going to do,” council President Paul M. Rodrigues said. “We have to have solid numbers, not assumptions and speculation. That does no one any good…We can’t make decisions based on assumptions and speculation.”
“We’re trying to do our best to assure everyone there’s a fair process and we follow the statutes,” Brown said. “I’d encourage anyone with a question about their assessment, just call in and speak with Vision (Government Solutions)…The best thing to do is call in and have that discussion with Vision and make your case for why your assessment isn’t accurate.”
The last day to an appeal appointment can be made with Vision Government Solutions is March 13. To schedule a meeting in March and April, visit https://mdl.town/VisionAppointment online or call 888-844-4300 now.
Residents and business people were reminded not to use the current tax rate to calculate their new tax bill because it won’t be close to accurate and spark unnecessary stress.
Rather, Brown said in coming days, the town would be releasing a projected tax rate after the revaluation figures were processed to help give everyone a better sense of where their tax bill was truly heading.
From there, it would be up to the council to decide where cuts and additions were needed as part of the budget preparations process, which usually runs through late May.
Per state law, town-wide revaluations must take place every three years. The goal is to share the tax burden as equitably as possible across all landowners using the latest property values as a baseline.
State law requires a full revaluation be carried out once every nine years. Statistical updates happen in the third and sixth year after a full revaluation.
The last full revaluation in Middletown was completed in Dec. 31, 2017. The current revaluation is the second statistical update. The next full revaluation will be as of Dec. 31, 2026 for the 2027 tax year.
Town staff and consultants with Vision Appraisal have assigned new assessment values of properties across town as part of Revaluation 2024, work that wrapped up late last year.
The Town Council is expected to okay an overall budget for Fiscal 2025 in late May. The tax roll will be certified and the tax rates set soon after. Quarterly tax bills are planned a short time in late July or August. For more information, visit https://mdl.town/Reval online.
Brown said he met with Gov. Dan McKee and other municipal officials across The Ocean State earlier Monday and what was happening in Middletown was not unique. He said many were seeing an average rise of property values similar to Middletown of about 40 percent, some more, some less.
Those who still disagree with their assessment after going through the informal appeal process continue to have recourse.
In the formal appeal process, objections can be submitted to Durgin between Sept. 10-Dec. 10, 2024.
If taxpayers aren’t satisfied with Durgin’s findings from this process, they can submit a challenge to the Middletown Board of Assessment Review. If that doesn’t meet the taxpayer’s satisfaction, an appeal can be filed with Rhode Island Superior Court.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/11722/NYCU-Protect