Board of Assessors

Minutes of the Board of Assessors Meeting of May 17, 2012 A meeting of the Board of Assessors was held on Thursday, May 17, 2012, in Room 208, 2nd floor of City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 8:15 AM by Chair Marylou Blaisdell. Members Present: Marylou Blaisdell Dominic D'Antoni Kevin Moriarty George Farrington Assessing Staff Present: Drew LeMay Louise Brown Gary Turgiss Greg Turgiss Cheryl Walley Minutes of the Meeting: The minutes for the meeting held on May 3, 2012 were approved. Abatement Requests Presented: A complete listing of all abatements approved/denied is available in the Assessor’s Office. Residential Appraiser Greg Turgiss presented abatements for two condominiums in Ternbury Square with each assessment being lowered a high percentage and noted that there are no amenities such as a club or a pool. He said the development also does not really have much parking available. Dr. Kevin Moriarty asked when a development does not have the amenities other developments may have, how is the difference calculated in the assessment data. Residential Appraiser Greg Turgiss told the Board that they plan on taking a closer look at the data on these condominiums because the assessments seem to be somewhat higher than they should be. Deputy Assessor Drew LeMay said the grading may be overstated and perhaps that neighborhood needs to be re-classified. Two abatements were presented at the last meeting by Mr. LeMay for properties on Amherst Street which were tabled so the Board can be advised what each assessment will be after the changes in data are made. Mr. LeMay separated the values and presented each with their individual assessments. Both of these were approved. Mr. LeMay presented an abatement for the property located at 90 Concord Street which is currently receiving a religious exemption. He advised the adjustments were made to both this property and its abutting property at 6 Bartlett Avenue, also exempt, as some data was being reported incorrectly. After the changes were made, the 90 Concord Street property's assessment was lowered significantly and the property at 6 Bartlett Avenue was increased by about as much. No abatement check will be issued as no taxes were due in 2011. The Board approved this abatement. Chair Marylou Blaisdell noted that this property is on the market for a little over $2M. She asked if this property is vacant. Mr. LeMay said he is not sure if it is currently occupied. Ms. Blaisdell asked that this be verified and if the property is vacant, the religious exemption must be removed for tax year 2012. Mr. LeMay agreed to look into this. 1 of 2 Ms. Louise Brown, Supervisor of Assessing Administration, presented two Warrants for the Board's signature; the first being the July 2012 Tax Collector's Warrant and the second being a Timber Tax Warrant for wood cut. The Board signed each. Appointments: None Election of New Chair of the Board of Assessors: At their meeting on Tuesday, May 8, 2012, the Board of Aldermen appointed Mr. George Farrington as a member of the Board of Assessors for an indefinite term and Ms. Blaisdell as an alternate member of the Board of Assessors. With Ms. Blaisdell officially resigning as Chair, the Board must elect a new Chair. MOTION BY Kevin Moriarty to nominate Dominic D'Antoni as the new Chair of the Board of Assessors. SECONDED BY George Farrington. MOTION CARRIED. Those present congratulated Mr. Dominic D'Antoni as the new Chair for the Board of Assessors. Mr. Farrington was welcomed to the Board and Ms. Blaisdell was thanked for her 19 years of service as a member on the Board of Assessors. Staff Items: Mr. LeMay told the Board that outside legal counsel, Attorney Anthony Ambriano, has been retained to defend against an abatement appeal on 22 Charron Avenue. A settlement had been reached and the agreement will go before the Board in the near future. He also mentioned other counsel has been retained to defend against an abatement appeal filed for the hotel property located at 11 Tara Boulevard. No settlement on this has been reached and this may go to hearing. Mr. LeMay advised that in an effort to further minimize the cost of paper and toner the information being sent to the Board members for each abatement is going to be cut down to a couple of pages of the most pertinent information. Specifically the property cards that are printed for each comparable sale will be omitted. If necessary, all assessment data is accessible at our website. The members voiced no problems with this change. MOTION BY Marylou Blaisdell to adjourn at 8:38 AM. SECONDED BY Dominic D'Antoni. MOTION CARRIED. Transcribed by Cheryl Walley Department Coordinator 2 of 2