FARMINGTON — Selectmen at their April 11 meeting approved the only bid received for completing the revaluation planned for 2025.
Allison “Alli” Brochu, Farmington assessor, said she had put out a request for proposal with a due date of March 31 and KRT Appraisal submitted the only bid. Brochu had reached out to the company to get an estimate of what the revaluation for Farmington might cost.
KRT submitted two bids: $310,000 using the TRIO software program currently used in Farmington, and $295,000 to convert and upgrade software to AssessPro5 [AP5] by Patriotic Properties.
“TRIO tends to be more simplified where you only see the current owner,” Brochu stated. “With AP5 you will be able to see history dating as far back as you wanted to go, which will help for historical purposes.”
After receiving the bids, Brochu contacted KRT requesting a bid on what it would take for them to do the personal property side of the assessments. Their response was about $50 per account to convert and do the revaluation for every business, personal property the town has, she noted. With about 350 accounts, that would be another $17,500, she said.
“I don’t know how many businesses have come and gone over the years, that have been picked up,” Brochu stated. “We pay $4,679.50 for the licensing and use of TRIO, annual fee to upgrade to Patriotic is $2,500-$3,500 per year. There would be some cost savings there.” The bridge needed to convert software is included in the bid, there are no additional fees associated with that, she noted.
Brochu, who was hired in December, didn’t know the last time personal property had been addressed, but assumed it was in 2013 when the last revaluation was done.
“It’s definitely time to do that piece as well, considering the number of empty storefronts among other things,” Selectman Dennis O’Neil said.
When asked about where the company would work, Brochu said they could probably work in her office as she is leaving the end of this month.
Interim Town Manager Cornell Knight said the files would be stored in the assessor’s office. The conference room or downstairs could be used during the day if needed, he added.
Selectman Joshua Bell asked Brochu if she had used AP5 when she worked in Waterville and what would happen if the next Farmington assessor wasn’t familiar with it.
The options with AP5 are exponential, properties can be sketched into the system and it saves time, Brochu responded. The program is user friendly, she added.
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