Nottingham
Advisory Assessing Committee
Meeting Minutes
August 11th, 2008
I.
Call to order
Chairman of the Advisory Assessing Committee, John McSorley, called to order the meeting of the Advisory Assessing Committee at 7:25pm on August 12th, 2008 in the Nottingham Town Offices.
II.
Roll call
John McSorley, conducted a roll call. The following committee members were present: John McSorley. The following alternates were present: Skip Seaverns and Bonnie Winona. The following members of the public were present: none.
III.
Approval of minutes from last meeting
The meeting minutes from July 28th were reviewed and discussed. Both Skip Seaverns and Jeff Gurrier provided written comments to the group. Bonnie Winona motioned to approve, as written, the July 28th minutes, seconded by Skip Seaverns. John McSorley and alternate Bonnie Winona voted in the affirmative, alternate Skip Seaverns voted in the negative, to approve the minutes. All were present at the July 28th meeting.
IV.
Open issues
1)
The group resumed discussion of the “Duties of Nottingham Board of Assessors” outline provided by John McSorley at the prior meeting.
2)
In light of the July 28th minutes discussion, the Steeplegate Mall v. City of Concord case was discussed as evidence that the BTLA form, or for that manner, any other form is NOT required by RSA to be completed by the applicant. Discussion still persists as to what specific information is required to be submitted by the applicant.
3)
We all agreed that Function Number 5: Consider all properly filed abatement requests by any taxpayer and after review and research, shall make a determination in writing or oversee it if revaluation contractor provides service and make determination in writing to taxpayer within statutory timeframes, shall also include the following functions:
a.
Board of Assessors should review each request for abatement, as it is received by the Board, 1) for completeness and to get a sense for trends in the abatements, such as locale or unrest, 2) to decide if additional information related to the request is required, and 3) to assist the applicant in completing the BTLA form.
b.
The Board should dictate to the contractors what is expected of each abatement review, based upon the specifics associated with each request.
Generic expectations like contractors conducting themselves in a courteous and professional manner are paramount.
c.
The Board should review each contractor-provided recommendation for validity, as these recommendations are just that, recommendations to the Board of Assessors.
4)
We discussed Function Number 6, Meet and work with DRA Monitors to ensure the Municipality is meeting all certification requirements of DRA and to maintain a good working relationship with DRA. This is just a change in the present process where the Selectman now meet with DRA for these issues; now it is the function of the Board of Assessors.
5)
We discussed Function Number 7, Perform annual assessment to sales ratio studies for the purpose of tracking equity and determining the need for a full revaluation, partial revaluation, or statistical update to be compliant with Part 2, Article 5 of the NH Constitution and RSA 75:8 - Revised Inventory.
6)
We discussed Function Number 8, Assist in MS-1 preparation as necessary in preparation for tax rate setting by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration.. This is just a change in the present process where the Board of Selectman now prepare the MS-1; beginning in 2009, it will be the function of the Board of Assessors. This function should, however, reflect Prepare MS-1 in preparation for tax rate setting by the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration.
7)
We started Function Number 9, Develop and engage in public information and public relations activities with all Nottingham taxpayers, and determined it was too big to tackle in the remaining time in this meeting.
V. New business
1)
No new business was discussed.
VI. Adjournment
Chairman of the Advisory Assessing Committee, John McSorley, adjourned the meeting at 8:45pm.
VII. Next Meeting
Monday August 25, 2008, 7:15 PM at the Town Offices.
Minutes submitted by: Skip Seaverns
Minutes approved by: John, Bonnie, and Skip on Aug 25, 2008.
| 
