CHINA -- People who want appraiser William Van Tuinen or his employees to inspect the insides of their houses or camps have until Friday to schedule an appointment.

Town Manager Daniel L'Heureux told selectmen Monday evening that callbacks -- attempts to contact absent property owners -- are ending Saturday.

The appraisers doing China's revaluation have been into a high percentage of houses and camps, L'Heureux said, and have inspected the outsides of all buildings.

When no one was at home to let them in, L'Heureux said there have been followup written notices and telephone calls to try to schedule an interior inspection.

Failure to see the interior means the new valuation will be based on the external inspection and previous tax records, L'Heureux said.

The manager expects to send China property owners notices of their preliminary valuations early in August. People who want to question their valuations will be invited to schedule an appointment with the appraisers.

L'Heureux hopes tax bills reflecting the new valuations will go out early in September because, by town meeting vote, the first half payment of local taxes is due Sept. 30.

The revaluation is a bid to bring the town's valuations of land and buildings closer to current market prices. L'Heureux said the appraisers considered sales up to April 1, so valuations should at least partially reflect this year's market slump.

He added that because Maine prices did not "bubble" as high as prices elsewhere in the country, Maine's price decline is also less marked.

The manager included a 21/2-page explanation of the revaluation in the China Lake Association's summer newsletter. He plans a presentation at the association's annual meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 7 at China Primary School.

The expectation is that shoreland property owners will see the largest tax increases.

Along with higher valuations, the town will lower the tax rate, but L'Heureux reminded selectmen that because the School Department needs more local money next year to make up for less state funding, the rate will not fall as far as it would have if funding had remained more nearly level.

In other business at Monday evening's selectmen's meeting, board members unanimously approved a BYOB event at The Cabins at China Lake from 9 a.m. to midnight Aug. 23.

Selectmen Joann Austin and Irene Belanger urged transfer station manager Elwin Higgins and attendant Louis Rancourt to make the relocated "swap shop" -- the area where useable items are left for others to pick up -- more visible.