1. The Board will determine a budget necessary to do the work needed for the certification year and make that a request as part of the budget process in the fall of the year.
2. The Assessing Firm will do the sales analysis and measurement each year as part of its regular duties. All work will be done in compliance with state laws and enforceable Administrative rules that are based upon the latest changes to the state laws.
3. The Board of Selectmen will proceed with an update based upon measurements that fall outside of recommendations for good assessing practices in the median values, stratification and/or Coefficient of Dispersion.
4. The Board of Selectmen will make the public aware of the planned process and hold a public hearing to explain the rationale for undertaking such a process. When there is a mass update, the database for taxes will not be changed for those updates until the Board agrees upon the proposed numbers.
5. The Board of Selectmen will make available speakers for groups who wish to hear about the subject, e.g. PACE, Lions, etc. Announcements will go on Cable, the Web and via a press release to the papers.
6. All mass mailings, sent by the assessing department, will be reviewed by the Board of Selectmen before they are sent, including any attachments.
7. Those with elderly and disabled exemptions will receive a separate letter indicating the potential impact on them of the changes. .
8. The Assessing Firm should make a recommendation of values (subject to revision in the hearing process) to the Board of Selectmen by July 17.
9. The Board of Selectmen will hold an informational hearing to explain the process before formally voting on accepting the assessing firm’s recommendation, but the absence of this vote will not hinder proceeding with hearings for taxpayers.
10. When the new proposed values are ready, letters will be sent to invite each property owner with a new value to come and review their values. Available times will include evening hours as well as days. The letters will emphasize that an increase or decrease in values does not translate directly into an increase or decrease in a person’s tax bill.
11. The letters will be sent to everyone whose property value changes by more than 5% and allow the owners at least 10 days notice before the hearing period ends. The hearing period will last at least five days. Evening appointments will be available at least 4 of those days. If more than one quarter of the parcels changes more than 5%, there will be at least 8 days for appointments with 7 evenings.
12. Lists will be available of current and proposed values at the Town Hall, Library and on the Town’s Web site. If possible a program will be developed for repeated broadcast on Cable TV of the process and especially focus on the impact of the update.
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