The city is going out to bid for its pending revaluation once more — but officials say this will not keep the reval from happening by 2014.
Municipalities undergo property revaluations approximately every decade to ensure that the assessment of properties for tax purposes aligns with actual property values. Property owners pay taxes based on a percentage of the value of their property.
The revaluation does not increase the total amount in taxes collected citywide. Instead, it adjusts the amount each taxpayer contributes depending on how the new value assigned to their property compares with others.
The city’s most recent revaluation was completed in 2002, Reidy has said. Due to the amount of new construction and redevelopment in the city since 2002, the upcoming revaluation may result in significant changes in some property owners’ tax bills.
After finishing new tax maps — which hadn’t been updated in decades — in March 2012, the city was almost ready for the reval. A municipality’s tax maps outline every lot in the city by use — every single-family structure, multi-family structure, commercial space or vacant lot.
The city approved a contract with the lowest bidder in January 2010. The bidder had agreed to complete the revaluation for $254,000. At a January council meeting, city manager Terence Reidy said the reval would begin within days.
But soon after, the company chosen for the reval told the city their original price would increase by $40,000.
The city is opting to go out to bid once more due to the increase in price, which they consider to be a breach of contract. Going through with the project with the slightly higher price could result in a lawsuit against the city, Reidy said. A competing bidder could sue the city for allowing the supposed lowest bidder to do the job at a higher price, he said.
The council unanimously approved a resolution memorializing the perceived breach of contract. The council also formally rejected all of the bids submitted in January 2010 along with that bid.
The council also authorized the city to procure a new vendor through the bidding process. A request for proposals [RFP] will appear in area newspapers after the requisite 20-day waiting period, city attorney Fred Raffetto said. It is anticipated a new contract will be awarded on March 6.
“The new vendor will proceed thereafter and the revaluation will be completed by 2014,” Raffetto said.
The process this time will likely take six to nine months, Reidy has said.
