2021 Grievance Hearing Minutes Background: Change of appraisal notices were sent to property owners on 4/27/2021 and included the information that written notification of the desire to grieve the value of their property including the reasons for grieving and any documentation was to be received in the town office by 5pm on 5/25/2021. Also included in that notice was the information that grievance hearings would be held on Thursday, 5/27 from 3pm until 7pm, and again on Friday, 5/28 from 9am until 12pm. Five property owners mailed or emailed notification of their desire to grieve and hearing times were scheduled. We heard grievances from two additional property owners.
5/27/2021 3:15pm Property ID - 07-0136-000 Sarah Gallagher, owner Ms. Gallagher felt that the increase in value due to her recently completed porch and rear deck which had not previously been included in the valuation was excessive. During the hearing Ms. Gallagher compared her property to her neighbors and questioned a change in depreciation values.

5/27/2021 3:45pm Property ID - 99-2447-000 Paul Grindell, owner The change of appraisal reflected improvements to the building on this property. Mr. Grindell told the listers that the land that his home sits on has become more unusable because of continuing erosion and that his property has many sinkholes.

5/27/2021 4:15pm Property ID - 39-0045-000 Michael & Sue Wuerthele, owners The Wuerthele's,  questioned an increase in value related to a new shed when no changes had been made to their property since 2014. The listers explained that there was a shed on the property that had not previously been included in the valuation. In addition, there was a screen porch that was not included in the previous valuation. Questions about how the numbers were derived were asked.

5/27/2021 5:45 Property ID - 99-0232-000 Robert Giolito, owner Mr. Giolito presented photos showing the state of completion of his home and shared recordings of road noises heard at various times from various places in his home. His presentation also included information about the traffic on Route 100 outside of his home.

5/27/2021 6:15pm Property ID – 07-0088-000 Bruce Shaw representing Pittsfield Federated Church Mr. Shaw and Mrs. Kathie Burns appeared. Mr. Shaw had submitted a letter objecting to the Board of Listers decision to no longer classify the Church Parsonage as non-taxable. The change of appraisal notice was a courtesy notification reminding them of the change in classification of which the church had initially been informed in July of 2020. There was no objection to the value of the parsonage. Mr. Shaw was informed that the law requires that a parsonage, to be considered non-taxable by the state of Vermont, must be occupied by a full-time, ordained minister of the church.

5/27/2021 6:45pm Property ID - 02-4010-000 Gary Stanley, owner Mr. Stanley acquired 7 acres last year from Mr. McGowan and questioned the value assigned to that property. Mr. Stanley stated he also owns property in Rochester that is contiguous with this Pittsfield property. He submitted a map showing right of ways through the property and stated that he felt those diminished the value.

5/28/2021 10:45am Property ID - 03-0447-000 Peter and Jody Wood, owners This grievance was heard based on documentation provided by the owners. That documentation was both the initial letter informing the listers of the desire to grieve the value and the reasons. In addition, Mr. Wood provided additional documentation in an email with possible comparable properties and made himself available by phone during the hearing time.

5/28/2021 9:15am Property ID - 99-3681-000 Beth Philhower, owner as of 4/6, grieving the value with permission of the owners of record on 4/1/2021. Ms. Philhower presented photos of the condition of her home and other information including the banks appraisal and comparables.

Minutes approved on 6/01/2021 by:
Elizabeth Warner (s)
Herbert Kuendig (s)
Jeremy Rayner (s)

Board of Lister activities occurring now:
 
Property Inspections where changes/additions have been identified
The value of properties will be updated based on those inspections. Property is valued as of April 1st.
 
Preparing and sending notices of changes in value
A notice of change in value will be sent to the property owner. That notice will include information about the right to grieve that change, the dates of grievance hearings, and how to schedule a hearing. That notification typically happens in early May with hearings scheduled in late May.
 
HS-122 Processing
Listers receive, from the state tax department, notice of the receipt of an HS-122 from a property owner. An ongoing data exchange occurs weekly throughout the season as HS-122s are processed by the tax department. Using available reports to assist them, listers review the data for the purpose of verifying that those who submit the forms are the owner of record of the property and to insure that business use values match the Grand List.  The state tax department will review any reported discrepancy and make a determination of the validity of the HS-122.
 
Helpful links regarding HS-122 and HS-144(Property Tax Credit)
https://tax.vermont.gov/property-owners/homestead-declaration
https://tax.vermont.gov/content/gb-1265-file-homestead-declaration-or-property-tax-credit
 
Current Use processing
Some property owners choose to enroll portions of their land in the Current Use program. Those acres are dedicated to preservation as forest, agriculture, or conservation land. A process of certification is managed by the state tax department and results in a data exchange that updates the Pittsfield Grand List Current Use information. Listers are asked to verify the accuracy of the property owner’s name and to verify that the acreage has not changed due to sales or filed map changes. As a practical matter, changes in Current Use data are infrequent in Pittsfield.
 
Current Use does not result in changes to the value or the acreage in the Grand List. Also, ‘Hold Harmless Payments’ are made to the town by the state to offset the impact of Current Use on Municipal tax receipts.   
 
Property owners enrolled in Current Use will receive notifications of changes in current use. The change notice is required for changes in the Grand List value of the enrolled acres. However, Pittsfield listers will send this notice to all property owners enrolled for information sharing because the use rate varies each year.
 
For information about Vermont’s Current Use program:
https://tax.vermont.gov/property-owners/current-use
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