AUBURN — City officials are considering the rollout of a new tax relief program following a tax bill cycle that saw significant concern from constituents.

During a City Council workshop Tuesday, several councilors, led by Councilor Ben Weisner, said the city should find funds in the current city budget to create a tax relief program that could be utilized by seniors and those with low incomes.

Councilors said they’ve received considerable feedback from constituents over the last several weeks after this year’s tax bills came due. Some residents, particularly those who had enrolled in the state’s now-defunct tax stabilization program, saw two years worth of tax increases made worse by valuation adjustments stemming from higher real estate prices.

Weisner said “we’re all hearing it” from constituents, and that he’d like to enact something to help those struggling with increases.

However, City Manager Phil Crowell said any new program should be developed carefully, and could possibly mirror programs in place in other municipalities like Scarborough and Cumberland.

“We don’t want to follow suit with the state’s half-baked program,” Crowell said, adding that finding money in the budget is also “not an easy task.”

The state’s Property Tax Stabilization Program froze property taxes for seniors, but when that program was ended by the Legislature this year, one year after taking effect, two years’ worth of increases came due for seniors, and real estate values and local budgets had increased during that same time period.

Crowell said the city had to take on a part-time employee just to handle the state’s program, and that he’d rather officials take the time to create a more effective program, and potentially plan it for the spring 2025 tax payment.

Most agreed that the city should consider options for a relief program, while Mayor Jeff Harmon highlighted the existing tax relief programs that are currently available, including the Homestead Exemption, property tax fairness credit, and the less-popular tax deferral program.

Harmon said it seems to be a “common misconception” that when the stabilization program was eliminated, there’s nothing else available, and that the city should include a description of the existing programs in resident tax bills, which is done in other communities.

Councilor Leroy Walker said he believes the council is “going down the right path” by looking into a new program, especially one modeled after other cities.

Councilor Steve Milks, who has often been the most outspoken on the issue of property taxes, said “what’s happened this year and the last couple is a concern.” Milks referred to not only budgets increasing, but also the city’s valuation adjustments, which have impacted different property classes at different times, which he said has caused a perception of unfairness.

“What’s happened is not everyone gets a tax increase,” he said. “We picked what’s easy to do, and that one group saw increases.”

With the city already planning a revaluation, which assessing staff said is the best way to create fairness, Milks said further market adjustments should be frozen.

The assessor’s office gathers data to see if valuations are reflective of the current real estate market, and while there’s been enough info to firmly establish that the market has driven up the value of residential properties, there hasn’t been enough info to establish that for other property classes, such as commercial and industrial. Officials believe a revaluation can do that.

Milks said he believes the only place that would make sense to find funding for such a program would be the city’s fund balance, which is taxpayer money, and that the program could either target people who were previously enrolled in the tax stabilization program, or simply give an across-the-board rebate.