Minutes
Town of Greenfield
Greenfield Town Offices, 7 Sawmill Road Greenfield, NH
Selectmen’s Meeting Minutes
Thursday, February 20, 2014 – 5:15 PM
Board of Selectmen: Selectwoman Karen Day and Selectwoman Debra Davidson
Staff: Administrator Patt, Catherine Shaw
The meeting was called to order at 5:15 PM by Selectwoman Day.
Documents for Approval/Review/Signature
The Selectmen reviewed and/or signed the following items:
§ A/P Invoices
§ A/P Checks
§ Payroll
§ Town Report
§ Corrected Minutes – Jan. 30th
§ Waste Water Checks
§ Southwest Region Planning Commission – Agreement
5:15 pm: Avitar and Dept. of Revenue Administration – 2014 Revaluation Kick-off
At 5:15 pm the Selectmen welcomed Mark Stetson of Avitar and Gregg Heyn of the Department of Revenue, State of New Hampshire. Mr. Stetson outlined the purpose of the conversation and indicated that the DRA has certain requirements that must be addressed with the Town prior to the commencement of the 2014 Revaluation project. Mr. Stetson indicated that he would make a presentation that would provide information required by the DRA and Mr. Heyn would ensure that all of the items required by the DRA were presented. Mr. Heyn would then provide a detailed follow-up of the DRA’s role in the revaluation process.
Mr. Stetson outlined to the selectmen that the goal of the revaluation is to bring the market value of the town (all of the properties) to 100% in 2014. The goal for completion of the project is October 1st, although most of the information would be available in mid-September. As part of the project the goal would be to complete and update data collection for 100% of the town. The field staff at Avitar use a lister manual for the data collection. As part of the revaluation, Avitar will be sending out notices to residents of the preliminary assessment values. Mr. Stetson showed the Selectmen a sample of the letter to the property owners. Avitar will coordinate meetings with residents based on the preliminary assessments at the Town Office. Changes from field review will be entered into the database by Avitar.
Avitar will also provide the assessments on the utilities.
Mr. Stetson turned the floor over to Mr. Heyn of the DRA. Mr. Heyn introduced himself and outlined that the revaluation and this meeting are required by law. His role is to ensure that the process is carried out in a thorough manner. Mr. Heyn praised the work of Mark Stetson and Greenfield’s Office Manager Catherine Shaw. Mr. Heyn would be doing data verification in the field and also following up on a percentage of the tax cards that are updated and on file. Any differences that are found are brought to Mark’s attention and Avitar is given 30 days to rectify. Mr. Heyn confirmed that this meeting “sets the ball in motion” so that Avitar can start the revaluation process. Mr. Heyn suggested a meeting in August with the Town and Avitar. The DRA’s final report on the 2014 revaluation process
would be available in May of 2015. There followed some discussion about a recent decision by the BTLA called the Stoddard Decision. There was an overview of the 2014 assessment standards. There was a discussion about mass appraisal standards. In answer to a question from Selectwoman Davidson Mr. Heyn explained that the Town was under contract to complete this revaluation and that the contract could not be broken at Town Meeting.
6:15 pm: Review of Documents and Letters
The Board reviewed several letters in the reading file and signed the minutes of January 30th. The minutes had been available in the last meeting but had not been signed because the signature page (last page) was clipped to the back of the hand-corrected minutes and went unnoticed.
Selectwoman Davidson asked the Administrator several questions about the dilapidated buildings ordinance and letters that were sent out by Mike Borden, Code Enforcement Officer in 2013. Selectwoman Davidson asked if junk-yards had been included on the list of those that were mailed the letters. The Administrator indicated that they had not been included and that the Code Enforcement Officer was working on an ordinance for junkyards for the Board’s review in an upcoming meeting. The Administrator had read through the ordinance and made some changes to fit Greenfield. A final version would be delivered by Mr. Borden for discussion and possibly adoption by the Board of Selectmen. Selectwoman Davidson indicated that there is a list of properties that should be mailed such an ordinance.
The Board indicated that they would prefer to read the SWRP agreement at their next meeting as Selectwoman Davidson had a Selectmen’s Advisory Committee to attend.
Adjournment
On a motion by Selectwoman Day and a second by Selectwoman Davidson the Board voted to adjourn. The motion carried 2-0. The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.
The minutes are final when approved and signed by the Board of Selectmen. A signed copy is on file in the Selectmen’s office.
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Karen Day, Selectwoman Debra Davidson, Selectwoman
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