Opinion ID: 1895024
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Remedy for Unjust Discrimination

Text: [¶ 23] The taxpayers demonstrated for the Board the mathematical formula to translate the overassessment percentages of 20% for 1993 and 22.5% for 1995 into appropriate percentage adjustments to achieve a 100% assessment. The Board utilized the formula and determined that an adjustment in the 1993 assessments of 16.7% and an adjustment for 1995 of 18.3% would achieve the appropriate result. Biddeford argues that the fifteen-property sampling the appraiser used to determine the overassessment percentages is not a sufficient basis upon which the Board could order the 16.7% and 18.3% adjustments because it does not relate to the basis of the discrimination. [¶ 24] Neither Maine case law nor the tax abatement statute provide guidance on the appropriate remedy for unjust discrimination, except that if the Board thinks the property is overvalued, it shall grant such reasonable abatement as it thinks proper. 36 M.R.S.A. § 843(1-A) (Supp.1998). In the only case to touch directly on the issue of remedy in a discrimination case, Farrelly v. Inhabitants of the Town of Deer Isle, 407 A.2d 302, 307 (Me.1979), overruled on other grounds by Moser, 553 A.2d at 1250, this Court affirmed the decision of a referee granting an abatement on the grounds of discrimination. The referee in Farrelly ordered an abatement on the taxpayer's 1976 taxes in the amount they exceeded his 1975 taxes. Id. at 304. [¶ 25] In this case the Board found, for purposes of unjust discrimination, that the properties were overvalued by an average of 20% and 22.5% for the relevant tax years. It determined that the appropriate remedy was to grant abatements in amounts that would eliminate the average overvaluation. Under the statute the Board was required to grant abatements in reasonable amounts and in amounts it determined to be proper. We cannot say that the Board abused its discretion or committed an error of law in granting the abatements that it did. This is not to say that abatements which were more closely related to the discriminatory practices would have been inappropriate. [¶ 26] The Board only has power to grant abatements and does not have the authority to remand the case to the assessor to recompute the tax. See Muirgen Props., Inc. v. Town of Boothbay, 663 A.2d 55, 58 (Me.1995) (interpreting same language in 36 M.R.S.A. § 844(1) (Supp.1998) with respect to power of County Commissioners). Thus, it was unable to send the matter back to the assessor to require a recalculation that would eliminate the inequitable practices; that is, to recalculate the assessment with the 12.5% reduction in the neighborhood factor and a redetermination of the median lot size. Neither the taxpayers nor Biddeford presented evidence to the Board of what the assessments would be without the discriminatory practice. Without such evidence the Board was not required to attempt a calculation on its own. We cannot conclude that the Board was in error when it utilized the average overvaluation percentages and granted abatements designed to eliminate the overvaluation. The entry is Judgment affirmed.