NOTTINGHAM – Town officials are grappling with how best to respond to a recent report that says at least some property revaluations around Pawtuckaway Lake last year may have been done improperly.
The tenor of the report, released to selectmen late last month, can be interpreted both to validate and criticize last year’s revaluation. Leaders from each side of the debate are doing just that.
Prepared by New England Municipal Consultants, Ltd., the report affirms the reasoning behind the revaluations — that waterfront properties were valued too low — and the end result, which brought those values back in line with the rest of town.
But the report also criticizes how individual properties were assessed and notes several errors, such as how more than a dozen properties were deemed waterfront although they only had water access, usually through a shared beach, and that several properties with similar features had their values adjusted differently.
“It is my opinion that after review of random parcels, there is clear evidence of inequity in the assessments,” reads the report signed by New England Municipal Consultants President William Krajeski.
More than 400 properties surrounding Pawtuckaway Lake were revalued last year, raising values about $22 million, after a state report showed they were worth more than they had been assessed.
The revaluations set off a firestorm of criticism from lakefront residents, who organized a special town meeting at which they voted to replace the town’s assessing firm and to commission the report released last month.
“Was anything horrendous or egregious done in the revaluation? No. It’s all in your interpretation,” Town Administrator Charlie Brown said. “The town is actively working toward an approach and a solution to this. We don’t have anything specific right now.”
Brown said town officials will look at the 70 abatements filed as a result of the revaluations and will proceed from there.
Those abatements usually must be done by July 1, but he said officials will process them past that date. Once the July deadline passes, residents can either file an appeal with the superior court or the state Board of Tax and Land Appeals.
If the town abatements show widespread problems, Brown said, officials may look beyond just the 70 who filed and possibly revalue more properties for the next tax year.
“If we find any inequities, we will work to fix them,” he said.
Jeff Gurrier, who is a member of the Pawtuckaway Lake Taxpayers Alliance and is among those who filed for abatements, said that lake residents hope town officials will turn back all of the revaluation, but they understand that may not happen. He said they believe the report provides clear evidence that the revaluations were not done correctly.
Gurrier said lake residents are digging in their heels and are prepared to take their cases to superior court despite fighting with the town over the revaluations for about 10 months now.
“Our concern is that the assessments are inaccurate and inequitable,” he said.
This most recent report has highlighted how complicated a process assessing can be.
Phil Blatsos, commissioner of the state Department of Revenue Administration, said assessors often use different methods to come up with values and more than one way can be correct. He said the town report on assessments may just be criticizing the assessor for using a different technique.
The DRA affirmed last year’s revaluation of waterfront property in Nottingham, Blatsos said, and so far no evidence has been presented that would prove widespread problems. No matter how an assessment is done, there will always be some errors, he said, and the recent report doesn’t bear out a systematic problem.
Blatsos said state officials plan to monitor how Nottingham’s abatements proceed and will decide what, if anything, they will do after that.
“I think we should just watch the facts and see how they develop,” he said. “I don’t see anything yet that there’s a serious problem.”
While there are differing opinions on the revaluations, one thing that everyone can agree on is that the process won’t end anytime soon.
“It’s gonna take a while to get this straightened out,” said Brown. “This isn’t something that’s going to happen right away.”
To view the full report: Town of Nottingham