As unpopular as Clipboard Inc.'s recent revaluation is, taxpayers shouldn't expect any silver bullets if the town ultimately throws out the firm's recent tax assessments and starts from scratch next year. In fact, they could be in for more heartache.

Evidently, a silver bullet is what Bristol town councilors hoped for when they voted last week to set Clipboard Inc.'s numbers aside and ask the state for permission to start again. Such posturing isn't uncommon in election years, and councilors' proclamations likely helped their standing in the eyes of residents whose assessments rose 10, 20, even 30 percent or more. But we suspect that little good can come from setting those numbers aside.

So far this year, more than 400 residents have appealed their new assessments. Percentage-wise, that's not uncommon during a full revaluation, and Bristol Tax Assessor Evelyn Spagnolo said many assessments that were found to be in error had already been corrected before the council took action last week.

Town officials may have fielded more than their fair share of unhappy phone calls since the new assessments were mailed out, but that likely won't come close to the number of calls they could get if a new revaluation goes through. If a new study re-distributes the tax burden in different neighborhoods, many residents whose tax bill would have stayed the same or even dropped could possibly see increases similar to what some others saw over the past few weeks. What will the town do then?

The solution to unhappy property owners, of course, is the appeal process, and councilors should have let that process run its course before taking such drastic action. If, as councilor Halsey Herreshoff suggests, mistakes were made across entire neighborhoods and appraisers used flawed or incomplete data, then there are ways to address the problems that result without throwing away a $350,000 study.

Town officials don't yet know whether the state will grant permission for another revaluation. Even if the legislature approves the request, though, we hope councilors will step back and look at the numbers they already have.

Pulling the rug out from under Clipboard Inc.'s revaluation likely won't result in positive change in Bristol. But it will almost certainly cost the town and its residents a good bit of time, aggravation and money.