VEAZIE – The local mill rate has come in lower than expected this year, but residents nonetheless are going to see an increase in their tax bills.

A rise in property values and the need for additional education funds is to blame, according to Town Manager Bill Reed.

This is the third year in a row that property values have been reassessed and increased. Without reassessing and bringing property values in line with state guidelines, residents may have lost or suffered a reduction in their Homestead Exemption, Reed said Wednesday.

“We saw in Veazie, almost across the board, a 12 percent increase in residential values,” the town manager said.

Although the town has increased property values slightly over the last two years, Veazie was falling behind the state guidelines and a large increase in values was necessary.

The school budget had a small increase by 6 percent, but the district suffered a significant loss in state aid, Reed said. Last year the town had to raise $504,000 in additional education funds. This year that number jumped to $908,000.

“When you couple all those things together, the mill rate was going to go up quite a bit,” Reed said.

The increase, however, was only seven-tenths of a mill higher than last year and came in at 17 mills per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. Town officials were able to keep the municipal budget stable to balance other increases in necessary school funding, allowing the mill rate to remain close to last year’s.

“[It’s] still one of the lowest in the urbanized areas,” the town manager said. Veazie is considered an urbanized area because of its density and the services it offers.

Tax bills were mailed out Friday, June 30, and Reed said he has handled five phone calls from concerned residents.

Two callers, he said, were “reasonable” about the increases, while three were concerned about the large jump in property values over the last two years.