Most Woolwich property owners can expect their property tax bills to be close to, or a little higher than last year. The select board set this year’s tax rate Monday afternoon after meeting with accountant William Brewer of Bath and assessing agent Juanita Wilson-Hennessey. Tax bills will be in the mail this week.

“The good news is we were able to keep (the) rate at $15.40 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation, the same as last year and the same as in 2020,” Selectman Jason Shaw told Wiscasset Newspaper. “The not so good news is, because our certified state ratio dropped another 10% we’ll be getting less in state reimbursement.” The ratio dropped from 95 to 85%.

“To put it in simple terms, the state is telling us a house that’s worth $100,000 is only being assessed at $85,000, which is 15% less than what they recommend. The bottom line is because of this Woolwich will receive less for homestead reimbursement and less for veterans. We’re not sure yet whether this means less aid for education,” Chairman David King Sr. added. The average tax bill will rise about $50.

“The important thing is our municipal budget went up over $200,000 driven by county and school spending but we were successful in keeping the ... rate the same. We’re also moving forward on the new property revaluation,” continued King. “This is why we started the process of having a new town-wide revaluation to get our property values more in line with where the state says they should be. We’ll be ready to send out a request for proposals next week,” continued King.

King said Woolwich hasn’t had a town-wide revaluation in more than 14 years; the state recommends doing one every 10 years.

The town received $187,389 in homestead reimbursement, a drop of $14,398 from last year, according to information the town provided.