Jay board to review application to reduce valuation

JAY — The Select Board will review an application to request from the state a sudden and severe loss of valuation as of April 1 this year for the 2024-25 fiscal year. The board will meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Town Office.

It is the fifth time the town is seeking a reduction in value since 2013 because of the mill downsizing and then closing. The state lowered the town’s valuation in 2022 by $201.1 million each for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, after the town filed for relief.

The adjusted valuation for 2019 was $347.85 million, 2020 was $347 million, 2021 was $388.1 million and in 2022 it was $415.1 million, according to the state Municipal Services Property Tax Division.

On March 9 Pixelle Specialty Solutions mill ceased all operations in the town. Pixelle Chief Executive Officer Tim Hess cited economic forces that made operations unsustainable.

“The town of Jay remains strong, undefeated and looking forward to tomorrow’s opportunities,” Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere wrote in the application to the state.

As part of the request, the town’s information on the valuation base in 2022 was $400.2 million. The town’s 2022 appraisal of the mill was $96.3 million.

The combined taxable and reimbursable for the state Business Equipment Tax Exemption valuation in 2022 was nearly $99.6 million.

Pixelle sought a tax abatement prior to April 1. The parties reached a settlement agreement in August for a tax abatement of $12.2 million in valuation and $250,100 in tax dollars. The town also agreed to appraise the mill at $3.6 million for the 2023-24 tax assessment. In return, Pixelle officials agreed to withdraw two pending abatement applications from the state Board of Property Tax Review as part of the settlement.

The town’s 2023 total valuation base is calculated at nearly $310.7 million. The combined 2023 taxable and reimbursable Business Equipment Tax Exemption valuations are $3.6 million.

The town has been successful in its four previous requests to reduce its valuation. If approved, a lower number will be used in calculating the distribution of education funding for the next fiscal year.

The drop in valuation for Jay will have an effect on the amount Livermore and Livermore Falls will pay toward the Regional School Unit 73 budget as it did in previous years. It will also have an effect on the amount the town receives from state revenue sharing.