By Devon Cormier
Staff Writer

Manchester Water Works is suing the town of Auburn over what it believes is an inaccurate assessment of their property, said Water Works Director Tom Bowen.

“We believe there’s a disproportion in the assessment of the Manchester Water Works property which has increased from approximately $13 million to in excess of $42 million and we’re also upset that this year alone the tax rate in Auburn has increased in excess of 14 percent,” said Bowen.

Bowen refused further comment because the attorney handling the case advised him not to.

Manchester Water Works owns about a quarter of the land in Auburn, and is one of the only businesses in town. Selectman Bruce Knox said the utility’s value went up because of a combination of things.

The townwide revaluation was done this year. Property values hadn’t been updated since the mid-1980s, Knox said. Also, Manchester Water Works owns almost exclusively waterfront property, which saw a rise in value recently. Knox said another problem is that the land wasn’t valued properly during the last revaluation.

However, Knox said the lawyers for the town and for Manchester Water Works are in discussion and Knox is hoping this won’t go to court.

“There’s not a lot of disagreement on the valuation of their land,” Knox said. “We’re hoping it won’t get uncomfortable.”