The collective value of Wiscasset's taxable properties dropped a little in 2012, according to preliminary figures from the state.

The downturn stemmed largely from picking up more than 70 of the Mason Station properties for unpaid taxes, the town's assessors' agent Sue Varney said.

Those acquisitions took about $6.5 million off the tax rolls, Varney said September 5.

A total of $2.1 million in growth offset some of that loss. The single biggest boost came from a $1.1 million expansion at Ames Supply in 2012, Varney said.

Adjusted for abatements, the homestead exemption, and other factors, the state is figuring Wiscasset's valuation at $449.8 million, down seven-tenths of a percent from a year ago.

The figures lag two years behind in both market values and local assessments because the state's valuation process takes about 18 months.

A hike in the total taxable value of a town can lower the property tax rate if school, town and county budgets come in flat; but a decrease can garner more state aid and cut the share a town pays of the county budget, Varney said.

“So it's not a bad thing,” she said of Wiscasset's decrease.

Varney is reviewing the state's preliminary valuation before the state issues the final version.

Susan Johns can be reached at 207-844-4633 or susanjohns@wiscassetnewspaper.com