JAY — The Select Board voted 4-1 Monday to use an estimated $750,000 from the undesignated fund balance to lower the tax rate because of an increase in property values following a revaluation.

Using the $750,000, the estimated tax rate for 2025-26 would be about $12.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said.

The current rate is $22 per $1,000 of valuation.

The board can change the amount to use from undesignated fund balance when it gets closer to setting the tax rate, which typically occurs in August.

There were two other options to use different amounts from the undesignated fund.

If the Select Board didn’t use any money from the fund, the estimated tax rate would be $13.65, LaFreniere said. If $1 million was used, the estimated rate would be $12 per $1,000 of valuation, she said.

Some property valuations are going to increase significantly because of the revaluation, LaFreniere said.

Selectperson Gary McGrane was willing to use $1 million from the fund but Chairman Terry Bergeron said they don’t know what to expect next year; he is not sure what is going to happen with the oriented strand board manufacturing plant because of tariffs. John Godfrey of Godfrey Wood Products said earlier this year he was concerned about the tariffs and what it will do to the cost of building the plant at the site of the former Androscoggin paper mill in Jay.

LaFreniere estimated there is about $5.2 million to $5.5 million in the undesignated fund. They will know better after an audit is conducted, she said.

The revaluation will put the homestead exemption back to $25,000 for eligible property owners as well as restore the other exemptions to full exemption, Vice Chairman Tim DeMillo said.

Letters are expected to be sent to residents by the end of next week that will include the proposed new property values and an estimated tax rate.

“This will help residents understand the potential impact of the revaluation on their tax bills,” LaFreniere said.