Strafford News

City of Dover issued the following announcement on October 20.

Last week, the City of Dover's Tax Assessment Office mailed updated assessed property values to property owners. The updated assessed values are for tax year 2021/fiscal year 2022.

The City's overall assessed valuation for the 2021 tax year increased by $688,220,080 to $4,589,687,130, a 17.6% increase, over the 2020 tax year. Overall residential assessed values increased 17.6% to $3,384,331,520. Overall commercial properties valuations increased by 18.9% to $1,108,843,510, while overall public utilities valuations increased 7.2% to $96,512,100.

The average single-family residential assessment increased by $62,313 to $413,518, a 17.7% increase. The average commercial assessment increased by $171,320 to $1,153,843, a 17.4% increase. The evaluations for all properties in the City of Dover are posted in the "2021 Assessed Values" report available at https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/tax-assessment/.

City Manager J. Michael Joyal, Jr. told the City Council at its Oct. 13 meeting that Dover's increased valuations are not an anomaly. "There has been a significant increase in valuation throughout our region," Joyal said.

The update of individual property assessments comes after Tax Assessment Office staff completed their annual review of property assessments. The citywide revaluation includes a comprehensive review of market changes that affect property values and is integral to maintaining updated valuations. In addition to the citywide revaluation, assessment staff inspects and reviews about 20% of all properties annually on a rotating basis.

The goal of setting assessed values in any year is to bring equity to the tax base by setting assessed values as close to market price as possible while maintaining consistency across various property classes, such as residential, commercial and public utilities.

Residential valuations make up 73.7% of all valuations for tax year 2021. Last year, it was 73.8%. Commercial valuations make up 24.2% of all valuations for this year, compared to 23.9% last year. Public utility valuations are now 2.1% of overall valuations, compared to 2.3% last year.

The updated assessments will be reflected in the upcoming 2021 property tax bill. The City's tax rate has not yet been set by the state Department of Revenue Administration but is anticipated to occur around mid-November. Once certified, tax bills will be printed and mailed to property owners.

Except for the state education tax and the county tax, the amount of property tax revenue the City of Dover collects is governed by the annual budget adopted by the City Council. The tax rate is calculated by dividing the amount of property tax revenue to be raised by the taxable assessment.

For more information about the updated assessments, or if you're a property owner and did not receive the letter, contact the Office of the City Assessor at 603-516-6014, visit the tax assessment section of the City's website at http://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/tax-assessment/, or visit the Tax Assessment Office at City Hall, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Original source can be found here.