SAUGUS – Atherton Street resident Maureen Dever is troubled with the process the town used to set its tax rate and it’s not just because her assessment went up $40,000.Selectmen voted to set a tax rate Tuesday despite Dever’s request that they wait. The rate was set at $8.76 per $1,000 for residential, up from $8.28 while the commercial/industrial rate dropped two cents from $18.43 to $18.41.Dever said she believed the system used to reach the rate was seriously flawed and she had a number of concerns. Another resident also asked the board to wait five days to set the rate, but the board, with the exception of Stephen Horlick, declined.Dever said she couldn’t understand how her assessment increased without the benefit of an inspection or alterations to her home. She was also surprised it increased in light of the fact that assessments of 10 other homes on the street went down.Dever said when she asked Deputy Assessor Ron Keohan about it, he could not give her a definite answer, despite the fact he is supposed to file any assessment that increases greater than 10 percent with the state.Keohan was out of the office and could not be reached for comment, but he said Tuesday that he was still working on Dever’s case.Dever also wondered why – if the Board of Assessors voted to accept the valuations in September – the residents were only allowed to view them beginning last week.Town Manager Andrew Bisignani said Wednesday that while the board voted to accept the valuations, the state had not. The disclosure period – the time allotted for residents to check on their assessments and file for a reassessment if need be – is a minimum of five days and comes after the state approves the valuations.Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian pointed out that the five day disclosure is only a minimum and it could be as long as 10. Keohan said if he were to reopen the disclosure period the town would essentially have to start the valuation process over. If that were to happen, he said the town wouldn’t likely get a tax rate set this year, which Bisignani said would mean it would have to borrow more money to run the government.Dever, however, said it was unfair for the board to set a tax rate when it was clear to her that the assessment process had been followed for some residents but not others.Bisignani and Keohan both argued that the Department of Revenue took a particular interest in the town’s tax issues this year and followed the assessment process from the start. Keohan said he believes it would have been difficult for improprieties to have taken place with the DOR “entrenched in the whole process.”Beachview Avenue resident Fae Saulenas said she realized setting the tax rate was important, but told the board it should ask itself how important is the faith of the public.”I think you will lose something far more valuable than the tax rate,” she said.Bisignani said the town issues over 7,000 residential tax bills and, while the system may not be perfect, there are remedies.Dever said if she could receive an answer as to how her assessment was reached it would help, but all she gets from Keohan is “I don’t know.””We will look at the facts and the value of the house and see if an abatement is warranted,” Bisignani said. “If she still isn’t happy she can appeal it in appellate court. We’re not the final word.”