If they haven’t already received it in the mail, property owners can expect to get notification of their new property values shortly. And if they can’t wait for the news, then they can go on the city website and find it there.

The fact that the city has just gone through a full revaluation shouldn’t come as a surprise. Under state law, municipalities must complete a full revaluation – meaning every property is visited – every nine years. Two statistical revaluations using comparative sales are done at three- and six-year intervals during the nine-year cycle.

Not surprisingly, although Rhode Island recovery from the Great Recession hasn’t been as strong as in other parts of the country, property values have increased, according to City Tax Assessor Christopher Celeste. Two companies performed the revaluation. One was focused on residential properties, relying heavily on comparative sales by neighborhoods to establish values. The other company valued commercial properties. They used comparative sales where possible but turned to income to establish values. It stands to reason that similar properties, say an office building with easy access to Route 95 and another on West Shore Road, would rent for different amounts, and therefore the one near the highway would be worth more. By the same reasoning, businesses along Route 2, the city’s retail corridor, can expect to be valued more than those on Post Road based on their volume of business.

In years past, even for statistical revaluations, the assessor’s office has provided not only a big picture of the overall changes in valuation by category of property, but also, if requested, a breakdown by neighborhood. Such information played a role in bringing to light several years ago that properties on the east side of the Warwick Neck carried higher values than those on the west side. This seemed odd, as property sales between the two were comparative, resulting in a review of valuations.

This year, however, the Beacon was told that overall statistics by property category would not be available until hearings on those requesting a review of their assessment are completed, hence property owners have no frame of reference when they receive their valuation notices until after the hearing process. In fact, we were told that not even the mayor has been informed of the overall changes in residential and commercial valuations – believe that?

We were told property owners could easily turn to the Internet to compare their prior valuation with their new one as well as those of their neighbors. In other words, “go fish.”

We expect more of this administration.

Disclosure is paramount to establishing trust and confidence in government.

Let’s see the big picture of this revaluation, not just a few snippets from surfing the Internet. With a point of reference, property owners can assess whether they have been fairly treated, and by the same token guesstimate whether their new value will translate into higher taxes.