Property owners received preliminary assessment numbers in mid-July as Harpswell nears the completion of an 18-month revaluation effort. Property owners were given two weeks to ask questions or suggest corrections before the values are finalized.

Vision Government Solutions, which Harpswell contracted to perform the revaluation, mailed letters containing new assessments to property owners on July 15. The town also sent a notice to its email list saying assessments were available and giving instructions about how to review them with Vision, appointments for which had to be made before July 29.

Assessor Debbie Turner said that given the short window of time for property owners to review their new assessments, the town announced their release by Facebook and email to ensure people were aware that the process had begun.

Turner said she has not yet received aggregate data from Vision, including the overall change in the town’s valuation or the median change in individual valuations. She said she expects to receive Vision’s finalized assessments in the second week of August.

Vision Project Manager Stephen Whalen predicted in February 2025 that Harpswell property values would have roughly doubled since 2005. That does not necessarily mean property taxes will rise. The town will set a tax rate that reflects the new assessments — if overall assessments rise and town spending remains roughly the same, the tax rate will go down.

Harpswell contracted Vision for the revaluation in September 2024 at a cost of $394,000. Throughout 2025 and 2026, appraisers attempted to visit each property in town. It is Harpswell’s first door-to-door revaluation since 2005.

A revaluation updates property assessments with the goals of accurately reflecting the current real estate market and ensuring property owners pay a fair share of taxes relative to one another.

Sam Lemonick is a staff reporter at the Harpswell Anchor. He can be reached at [email protected].