Norway residents urged the select board to pause a new property revaluation, saying its results were rushed and unfair. The board is scheduled to consider the tax commitment Sept. 29; its chair said the town still lacked information required before a vote.
At a Sept. 17 meeting, Matthew Glatz said the revaluation put his King Street property at $349,015, about three times the $112,000 he paid in 2021. Many residents said they had not received the Aug. 23 valuation letters or known about appeal meetings held Sept. 1–3. Residents also sought the assessor’s individual calculations; the firm uses proprietary software and had not shared them with town officials or property owners.
Norway’s last full property valuation was nearly 20 years ago. Selectman Russell Newcomb said relying on estimated annual mill-rate adjustments was no longer sustainable. Chair Sarah Carter said the board could keep last year’s values and raise this year’s mill rate, or adopt the revaluation and lower the rate. She said voter-set tax-payment dates could be changed only through a special town meeting; payments are due Nov. 15, 2026, and May 16, 2027.
