Minutes
Assessing Workshop with Avitar
March 28, 2005
8:05 AM Chair Netishen opened the meeting.
Members: Bill Netishen, Peter Bock and Town Administrator Charles A. Brown.
Guests: Eugene Reed, Loren Martin, Gary Roberge, Chris McAllister and Peter Rowell.
Mr. Reed started with an explanation of the reasoning behind this meeting. Mr. Reed’s power point presentation would not work so he gave a manual presentation. He provided a printed handout. He feels the contract with Avitar states pictures will be done but are not up to date. Mr. Reed also feels the percentage of property visits/verifications is not up to 25%. He does not feel building permit pickups should be part of this process. The cycle should include all properties other than pickups. He also feels “extra features” are being missed? Mr. Reed questioned the actual number of Field reviews being done and if the number is in line with the amount stated in the contract. There was discussion about what Mr. Reed feels are disproportionate land values. Mr. Reed
asked what is the acceptable level of mistakes and how can taxpayers come to better understand their tax cards.
The Assessing Standards Board consists of 15 members. Mr. Roberge comes across as a very competent member in Mr. Reed’s opinion.
The education and level of understanding of the officials involved was discussed including the Board of Selectmen, the Assessing Clerk and the Town Administrator. It was suggested that at least taking the NHAA basic course would be helpful. It was stated that Avitar’s assessing personnel are all certified by the State of New Hampshire and the Town’s Assessing Clerk has also received training and certification. Mr. Reed asked if booklets containing more detailed explanations of the process could be made available for the public.
The Board will take this under advisement.
Mr. Netishen asked about the mistakes Mr. Reed referred to in section F. of his letter dated January 3, 2005. Mr. Reed indicated he is reasonably satisfied with the corrections that were made except for those that he is appealing in the abatement process.
Mr. Roberge said that a quarter of the state is in this update process. Nottingham has been proactive compared to other towns. Building permit pickups are included in the 25% update in order to save the town money since many of those might be done twice if they are not picked up initially. The database will never be perfect as there will always be differences, mistakes and oversights. Avatar has a quality control program which regularly checks 10-15% of the output. Mr. Roberge gave Mr. Reed some examples of mistakes and explained that even blatant mistakes can be made at any level, but are corrected when discovered.
The disproportionate land value in Nottingham was a problem that could not be fixed in 2004 without making the situation worse. Gary had made a judgement and in the end realized he had made an error. The base values must change drastically and a quick fix would have made things worse.
The pictures should be updated this year. Having pictures makes the interview process work more smoothly.
Mr. Roberge does not feel that statistically Nottingham is seriously disproportionate. This matter will be addressed. Concerning the education of the Board of Selectmen, Mr. Roberge does not feel there is a need for the Board members to be overly educated in assessing but rather they should be reasonably informed. For the assessing clerk, this knowledge is very important. Mr. Roberge feels that Ms. Seaverns has been well trained and is very good at what she does.
The differences from 1999 to present have been dramatic. Again, Mr. Roberge stated he erred by trying to keep the town’s costs down but could not have predicted the huge change in the real estate market. Having the taxpayers review the data is a good thing in making the assessor work harder and be more diligent. Mr. Reed asked how the percentage of properties to verify is chosen? Avitar has a program that is used to identify prospective properties. The selection process is completely random. There was a discussion about how to get certain reports from the software. Mr. Roberge said that Assessing Clerks may need instruction from Avitar to produce specific reports.
Mr. Bock asked how a property goes from new construction to the regular random cycle. When a CO (Certificate of Occupancy) is issued, that prompts a review and the property is then picked up for regular cycle review. Mr. Roberge responded that it is possible that in the past, some properties could go for 5 years without being picked up on the tax update. It is less likely now. Mr. Reed asked if DRA assigns a monitor for the update process? The town has a regular DRA representative that monitors all assessing practices throughout the year. There was a discussion about how rules are being discussed at the state level to try and benefit the towns and allow the state time for review of reports. Mr. Bock asked how the process starts. Mr. Roberge explained it starts with a drive around to determine
if neighborhoods are still within existing sales ranges. Mr. Bock asked if he is satisfied with the present neighborhood assessments. Mr. Roberge replied that all the neighborhoods will probably change during the update based on sales and the assessor’s opinion.
Mr. Netishen commented on the education issue and asked if Avitar has done prior educational meetings. Mr. Roberge answered yes. A big factor is that people need to show up for these meetings. The Board of Selectmen and the Town Administrator can help attendance by being proactive. They need to try to keep the residents informed about the update/reevaluation process and the appeal process. It is normal to have a 6% appeal follow-up after an update. Information can be put on the internet for review for free. Avitar still uses the booklet process and feels it is worth the cost.
Mr. Roberge may recommend Mr. Reed for appointment as an at-large member of the NHAAO.
9:12 AM- Having no further business before the Board,
Motion: Netishen, second Bock to adjourn.
Vote: 2-0 in favor.
Respectfully Submitted,
Charles A. Brown
Town Administrator
Approved as corrected
4/18/05
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