Village revaluation project stays loose

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

The timeline for a revaluation within the Village of Waterford remains open and fluid, following action Monday night by officials.

Citing concerns about continued economic conditions that have hurt property values in some communities, the Village Board agreed May 13 not to set a specific year for the next village-wide revaluation. It could occur in 2015 or even later.

“We don’t know what the market is,” Trustee Steve Denman said. “We don’t want to decide right now.”

As part of the board’s motion Monday night, the village will continue to earmark money toward the revaluation, which will be conducted by an outside firm, Associated Appraisal.

Although he voted in favor of maintaining a loose timeline, Village President Tom Roanhouse expressed concern about ongoing delays in the revaluation process.

Roanhouse said he has fielded calls from residents who have expressed frustration about neighbors making alterations within their homes that are not reflected in their assessments.

“The earlier we do it, the better,” Roanhouse said. “I think (delaying) is a disservice to our taxpayers. Doing it sooner is fair to the citizens of this community.”

During their recent discussion, the board wrangled over what effects a drop in overall assessed value could have on the overall tax levy, which currently stands at about $2.6 million.

Trustees discussed differing perspectives about the possible connections and effect of assessed values and the tax levy.

Hypothetically, if property values were to drop 20 percent, Trustee Don Houston said, it is possible the village might have difficulty paying the $80,000 cost to carry the revaluation through.

“We could be shooting ourselves in the foot,” Houston said, of conducting the revaluation at this time.

Associated Appraisal will be undertaking another less extensive and costly endeavor for the village – perhaps sooner than the revaluation itself.

As part of a state mandate by the Department of Revenue, the village needs to digitize its property records by 2015, though the effort’s timeline could potentially be moved out if an extension were sought.

Officials agreed it would be best to handle the digitization and revaluation at the same time, if possible.

Digitizing the village’s property records is expected to cost about $6,000.

Currently, the state requires all municipalities maintain a 0-based levy increase for all existing properties. The only way for a community to increase its levy authority is through new construction.