Nottingham
Advisory Assessing Committee
Meeting Minutes
September 22nd, 2008
Call to order
Chairman of the Advisory Assessing Committee, John McSorley, called to order the meeting of the Advisory Assessing Committee at 7:15pm on September 22nd, 2008 in the Nottingham Town Offices.
Roll call
John McSorley conducted a roll call. The following committee members were present: John McSorley, June Proko, Andrea Lewy and Jeff Gurrier. The following alternates were present: Skip Seaverns. The following members of the public were present: none.
Approval of minutes from last meeting
The meeting minutes from August 25th were reviewed and discussed. The August 25th minutes were approved by John McSorley, Jeff Gurrier, and alternate Skip Seaverns who were all present at the August 25th meeting.
The meeting minutes from September, 8th were approved by John McSorley, Jeff Gurrier, and alternate Skip Seaverns who were all present at the meeting.
Open issues
1) The group discussed how the Board of Assessors would impact the 2009 budget. John McSorley will ask the Town Manager what the current expenses surrounding assessing functions are and if there have been any plans made for adjusting those in 2009. John will ask for documentation on what was budgeted, appropriated, and spent in 2008 on assessing related budget items.
The group discussed the need for budget items covering the following expenses: postage, secretary for minutes, office expenses, software and hardware maintenance, and annual support fees.
2) Skip Seaverns spoke about the importance of having an assessing clerk to handle informal public interaction due to the right to know laws and the difficultly of establishing a quorum of the board on the spur of the moment. He also thought that taking meeting minutes may be handled better by someone other than the assessing clerk. The assessing clerk coordinates a great deal of paperwork during a meeting and it would be difficult to also take the minutes. There is a separate secretary for taking minutes in place today and he recommended that continue in the future.
New business
1) A question was raised about what happens to the overlay if it is not used for abatements. The Board of Selectmen appropriated $70,000 as an overlay in 2007 yet only a small percentage of that was used for abatements. The group wondered what happens to the remainder of these funds when they are not allocated to abatements. John McSorley will ask the DRA what the rules are regarding overlays. He will also ask the Town Manager how these funds are handled.
2) The group discussed what formal training options would be available for the Board of Assessors. The State holds a two week statute course (one week, twice a year). These courses currently cost $50 per week but, would require working participants to take time off from work to attend. The DRA also has a number of mini-courses that are 3-4 hours in length and provide informational pamphlets to the participants.
The group discussed creating a binder with all of the pertinent forms, statutes, rules, etc. as a reference tool for the Board of Assessors. The following function areas were deemed a higher priority for the first draft of this information kit (from the assessing functions outline) : Functions 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, & 10
3) The group contemplated the impact of introducing public relations efforts on staffing and expenditures? The potential costs of public hearings, public presentations on assessing, newsletter articles, and taxpayers guides were discussed.
Adjournment
Chairman of the Advisory Assessing Committee, John McSorley, adjourned the meeting at 9:05pm.
Minutes submitted by: Jeff Gurrier
Minutes approved by: draft
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