Amid discussion regarding recent property tax hikes at a South Portland City Council meeting last month, Mayor Misha Pride suggested that elderly residents living on a fixed income may want to consider reverse mortgaging their homes to manage the growing tax burden.
[RELATED: South Portland Residents Passionately Address Property Tax Concerns at City Council Meeting…]
At the Tuesday, Aug. 13 meeting, the City Council was discussing a proposal to allocate an additional $50,000 to the city’s Senior Property Tax Relief Fund, in response to a shift of the tax burden from South Portland’s commercial properties to residential ones, caused by the city’s most recent revaluation.
The fund, launched in 2011 and designed to provide financial relief to qualifying seniors, has undergone several amendments over the years.
According to South Portland Tax Assessor Brent Martin, the age for eligibility has been lowered from 70 to 65, and the maximum relief amount per household has increased from $300 to $500.
However, actual benefits are often pro-rated based on available funds and the number of applicants, with the average benefit in 2024 being just $258, Martin wrote in a memo to the City Council.
With higher property taxes caused by the revaluation, more elderly South Portland homeowners could be applying for tax relief, meaning a lower average benefit under the fund for those seniors unless additional funds are allocated into the program.
During discussion on the proposal of allocating additional funds to the tax relief fund, South Portland Mayor Misha Pride described the “perfect storm” in the city that led to recent revaluation causing the spike in property taxes.
“This is very much a perfect storm,” Mayor Pride said. “We live in a coastal community, it’s very attractive to live here. And unfortunately, that means lots of people are buying lots of residential properties.”
“It’s not that commercial is necessarily doing poorly, it’s that there isn’t enough buying and selling of commercial properties to warrant reviewing and raising those percentages…so it’s a really difficult position to be in,” he continued.
Residential property sales outpacing commercial sales has resolution in property value growth on the residential side, meaning that under the revaluation, residential property owners are now bearing more of the property tax burden.
The mayor expressed his empathy for residents dealing with the rising costs, noting that his own property taxes had steadily increased over the past five years.
“I’m really sad, and, you know, my taxes are going up too — and have every year for the last five years, my valuation’s gone up every year for the last five years,” Pride said. “I didn’t have the jump that a lot people saw because mine has been steadily going up every year.”
Then, in addressing the financial pressures the taxes are placing on the city’s seniors, Mayor Pride made a suggestion that triggered an audible gasp and agitation among those present at the August meeting: that elderly homeowners in South Portland take out a reverse mortgage on their homes.
WATCH:
“I just sort of throw this out there because I’ve also been thinking a lot about how especially those with fixed incomes can deal with this, it is kind of a last resort measure, but seeing as our property values are so high, seniors may want to consider a reverse mortgage,” Pride said.
“I know it’s an ugly word,” he admitted, “but there are — I’m just saying, I know it’s horrible, but it’s sort of a last resort.”
Pride clarified that he does not recommend reverse mortgages lightly, but with the significant rise in property values, it could be a viable option for some seniors on fixed incomes. “It’s not something I’d advise someone on first blush,” he added.
[RELATED: Sticker Shock: Maine Homeowners Burdened by Property Tax Hikes Following Recent Revaluations…]
“This is really difficult for everyone, we don’t take any pleasure in this, and the city doesn’t get any more money,” he said. “And that’s something I think is hard for people to hear, is that the city is not getting a penny more from taxes, it’s really truly just a shift of who’s paying them, which is, I think, the hardest thing for people to hear and understand.”
The mayor also discussed the possibility of “buying down the tax rate” from city funds, although he noted that this idea had initially faced opposition from the city manager. Pride suggested he would revisit the conversation with city staff, given the widespread financial strain residents are experiencing.
“Maybe the guidance from the city manager will have changed due to the hurt that so many people are feeling right now,” Pride said.
An order to allocate an additional $100,000 to the city’s Senior Tax Relief program was passed unanimously by the South Portland City Council at their Sept. 3 meeting.
We signed up for the short-lived Property Tax Stabilization which was repealed by the Maine Legislature less than 1 year after its inception. Seniors generally don’t have children attending public school – which takes a big chunk of property taxes paid.
One of my biggest gripes about AARP is how it never advocates for lower senior citizen property taxation – in fact it has in the past campaigned against ballot initiatives that would bring relief to the very people AARP claims to represent.
Reverse mortgages have some very dark features that can eventually dump a homeowner out of the house if one lives too long. Financially it’s a poor strategery as well.
Everyone’s taxes in South Portland have been steadily going up since the early 2000’s.
At least 2% and many times more than that. Just a few years ago we saw as much as 50% hikes.
If yours isn’t going up like ours Misha, who’s doing you favors?
What an *&^%^$% thing to say too. Get a reverse mortgage?
Great, that way you have nothing to leave your kids.
This City Council and the lousy City Manager can only seem to make excuses.
They allowed the illegals in town, making the city liable for the general assistance.
They know out of staters flocked here, paying way too much for houses and yet are punishing us for it.
They have multiple areas they can cut the budget but can only make excuses as to why they don’t.
They keep creating new city jobs, like a Communications Director, to send emails and such.
They allow the School Board way too much control over the City budget, know that those greedy liberal no good school wreckers will only spend more and more and more.
You can pound sand you uncaring jerk.
How was the voter turnout on the city’s budget?
Okay Maine Wire, here’s something to look at….
I live in an industrial zone. Across from an oil tank.
Misha Pride lives on Highland Ave.
Our houses are assessed at almost the same exact number.
His neighbors are both assessed at almost twice that amount.
Why is he getting special assessments????
You can go to southportland.org and go to online services, real estate, look up his address and get the assessed amount and tax bill.
You can also look up the homes next to him and see their assessments and tax bills.
This city is crooked.
Rooster, the only budget vote on is school
1400 people is all that turned out
No. I am just going to keep my money and give my home to an animal shelter or some other good will endeavor and then go to city /Gov run nerving home . You pay for me !
The Democrater are killing the older folks. Their inflation is putting the in the poor farm. If you are over 65 get out and vote the democrats out. ARRP does not help us they just sell us things.
I’m from South Portland and this is unbelievable. Next the city council will be suggesting seniors move out to make way for the illegal immigrants. I just spent 50 minutes waiting at city hall to renew my car registration because 3 illegals were trying to register cars they didn’t have clear title for. Can anyone say stolen?
Hey, you callous a-hole, how about cutting government services especially for illegals? A bureaucrat’s solution is ALWAYS to raise taxes, but NEVER cut expenses.
ron, I was there early this year registering a car and one of the illegals’ “titles” was missing a few serial numbers and the clerk was going to let him register it anyway until she realized his address was in Portland.
what a total ahole this Pride guy is!!!! You get what you vote for !!!!
this guy is the definition of a dildo.
DO NOT DO A REVERSE MORTGAGE! Typically the house gets foreclosed upon after 3-5 years because the senior citizen does not replace the roof, update the heating, take care of the lawn or the driveway, the list is endless where the bank can kick you out for not updating the home. Also, a reverse mortgage gets charged an interest rate that is way higher than the published interest rate. And the bank has all kinds of hidden fees every year that accumulate on the reverse mortgage loan. In addition, the bank will require that you have the highest insurance on the house and if you don’t pay it or fall behind on the insurance or taxes, even by a few months, then the bank can and will foreclose upon the senior citizen immediately. They do not have to wait for the tax assessor to send warning letters for 3 years if you are late on your taxes. Reverse mortgages are the most preditory loan on the market – I can’t believe they are still around. And for the Mayor to suggest this type of loan, well, he is NOT YOUR FRIEND!
Sounds to me like a unlicensed dickweed is giving financial advice. Do you even have an AG in this state? What’s that? Oh sorry, can’t prosecute democrats, my bad.
Thanks Beachmom,
Hey ‘Other Side’, have you met our ‘never met a Constitutional right he likes’ AG?
Does the name Marie Antoinette come to mind?
The math isn’t hard. Misha Pride and the council are part of the ruling class and people are stupid enough to keep voting for them. He and the council took in money to bring in migrants, they’re taxiing residents to the point they are encouraged/forced to take a reverse mortgage and give up their equity and custody of their home so they can take it and sell the property for a premium or redevelop it for migrant housing and get rental income. Either way, they are getting something out of it, and if Misha Pride and the council drive the residents out, they have migrants to replace them with. A guaranteed vote, once they are granted citizenship. The residents better vote in all new people and have the city manager fired.