Board of Assessors

Minutes of the Board of Assessors Meeting of August 14, 2014 nd A meeting of the Board of Assessors was held on Thursday, August 14, 2014 in Room 208, 2 floor of City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 8:15 AM by Chair Dominic D’Antoni. Members Present: Dominic D’Antoni Daniel Gagnon Robert Earley Assessing Staff Present: Angelo Marino Louise Brown Gary Turgiss Greg Turgiss Doug Dame Cheryl Walley Minutes of the Meeting: The minutes for the meeting held on June 26, 2014 and July 17, 2014 were approved. Abatement Requests Presented: A complete list of abatements presented is available in the Assessor’s Office. Regarding an abatement presented for 234 Amherst Street, Commercial Appraiser Doug Dame told the Board that the recommended assessment is only for 2013 and since there have been improvements made before 4/1/14 but after 4/1/13, we will review the property for 2014 and these improvements will be reflected in the 2014 assessment. Regarding an abatement presented for the property located at 17 Paxton Terrace, Mr. Robert Earley noted that one of the comparable sales used to support the proposed assessment was for a property built in 1880 and the subject was built in 1975. Mr. Earley voted to deny this abatement’s proposed assessment, however the other two members voted to approve. Appointments: 8:30 – Detective Scott Hudon, Sergeant Randy Dumais and Deputy Chief Christopher Peach of the Nashua Police Department (NPD) on behalf of the Nashua Police Relief Association (NPRA) regarding the charitable exemption/assessment on their property located at 49 Kinsley Street and owned by the Nashua Police Relief Association The Board welcomed the representatives of the NPRA and advised they had received the material submitted and will take all points made at today’s meeting under advisement and notify them of their decision within a week. Detective Hudon began by stating they are here because they received notification that Chief Assessor Angelo Marino is recommending the charitable exemption be removed from NPRA’s property located at 49 Kinsley Street. He said they have reviewed the statute presented to them and are in agreement that the organization does not qualify for an exemption, charitable, religious or educational. The membership is 100% sworn officers of NPD, but they would like the Board to look at what the building is worth to the community. It is located in the downtown area at 49 Kinsley Street and serves as an unofficial substation for the on-duty officers. 90% of its use is by on-duty personnel using it for dinner breaks, restrooms, etc. making it possible for them to stay in the field and not have to use restrooms of area businesses or public restrooms. 1 of 3 10% of its use is by off-duty personnel and half of those would be officers waiting to attend court, union meetings, etc. Any sworn member of NPD as well as members of other police departments can use the facility but they would have to be accompanied by a sworn member of NPD. He continued saying Mr. Marino is correct that the organization does not qualify under state statute but they would ask the Board of Assessors to consider the use of the building and possibly make an exception. Mr. Dominic D’Antoni asked if there is a charter for the organization and Detective Hudon said there are by-laws but no charter. Mr. D’Antoni asked what would happen to the building and assets of the organization should the organization dissolve and Detective Hudon said the organization is mandated to donate all assets to an organization which qualifies as a 501(c)(3)or charitable under IRS guidelines. He said their fear is that they do not have a lot of financial assets at this time and having to pay a tax bill is going to force them to sell the property. One of the members asked if the members pay any dues and Detective Hudon said yes $4.50 per week. There is also a fundraising drive every year and last year they raised $17,000. Mr. D’Antoni asked if the membership is strictly sworn officers or can anyone apply. Detective Hudon answered strictly for officers. Mr. Robert Earley asked how long the organization has owned the property and Detective Hudon said they purchased it in 1993 but the organization started in 1941. At the time of purchase we had a much larger financial portfolio and thought of it as an investment but at this time that is not the case. Detective Hudon said when they received information that the exemption may be removed they asked Ms. Pat Clancey, a local real estate agent to look at it to estimate a market value. The current assessment on the property is $289,100 and Ms. Clancey’s letter states “It is my opinion the lack of parking negatively impacts the value so severely that I find it difficult to assign a value of even half of what the city has as its value.” Mr. D’Antoni asked if there were any sales used to determine this and Detective Hudon said no, as her letter states there is very little to compare with this property in the area. Detective Hudon said he understands the period for filing an abatement is November, 2014 through March 1, 2015 but he was wondering if the assessment could be looked at before that. Mr. Marino stated the assessed value can be reviewed and if the Board of Assessors removes the exemption there is nothing to prevent us from adjusting the assessment if warranted for 2014. Mr. Daniel Gagnon asked if there was any reason why the organization cannot switch into a nonprofit status. Detective Hudon said they would have to change how it is operated and this organization was designed for the officers and there would have to be quite a bit more offered to the public-at-large. Mr. D’Antoni told the representatives they will take everything under advisement and get an answer to them within a week but if they do not agree with the Board’s decision, they retain the right to appeal to the Board of Tax and Land Appeals or Superior Court. Detective Hudon, Sergeant Dumais and Deputy Chief Peach thanked the members and staff of the Assessing Department for their time and left the meeting. Staff Items: Supervisor of Assessing Administration, Ms. Louise Brown presented two Current Use - Land Use Change Tax Lien releases. One for four parcels – Map 62/Lots 239, 240 and 241 and Map 127/135 and another for Map B/Lot 20 which was previously released but this is correcting the acreage amount. Both of these were signed by the Board members. Regarding the charitable exemption on the property owned by the NPRA, Mr. Marino told the Board he feels Detective Hudon made an excellent case for retaining the exemption. There is certainly a benefit to the community by keeping the officers in the downtown area and keeping up police presence, so there is more than just the benefit to the organization to 2 of 3 consider. This is a gray area and he does not make policy but if he were doing it he would probably lean towards keeping the exemption. It is a benefit to the members but there is also a benefit to the community. Mr. D’Antoni said the Board must always go by state statute and they do not qualify under State of NH law. Mr. Earley noted that he and Mr. Gagnon are relatively new to this and asked if there are any other organizations with a similar situation that are receiving an exemption. Mr. Marino said the Spartans received an educational exemption but we battled around that long and hard and finally it was determined they were deserving of an exemption. There is also the Nashua Rowing Club. They are a club and they also qualify to receive an exemption. On the other side of the coin, however, the Board denied the Elks. There are precedents on both sides but the Board has broad power to abate or exempt whatever is necessary. Mr. Gagnon asked Mr. Marino if he feels the assessment is high and he said yes but when dealing with exempt properties we do not pay a lot of attention to the assessment, because staff’s time can be better used doing other things. Mr. Marino and the Board agree that the property should be inspected and the assessment updated to reflect the current condition. After careful consideration of the points made at today’s meeting and some related discussion the following motion was made: MOTION BY Robert Earley to deny the 2014 charitable exemption for the Nashua Police Relief Association on the property located at 49 Kinsley Street as the organization does not meet the criteria set by RSA 72:23-l SECONDED BY Daniel Gagnon MOTION CARRIED. MOTION BY Daniel Gagnon to adjourn at 9:15 AM SECONDED BY Dominic D’Antoni. MOTION CARRIED. Transcribed by: Cheryl Walley Department Coordinator 3 of 3