Board of Assessors
Board of Assessors
Joint Meeting with Selectboard
Minutes
Remote
November 17, 2020
10:00 am
Members Participating: Kathy Stanley, Principal Assessor, Tim Hammond, Helen Townsend
Attending: Chair Karen Cruise, Richy Bisk, Matthew Moncreaff, T.A. Sherry Patch, Chase Davenport, Wayne Adams, Tom Sullivan, Roger Brooks, Linda Nash, Susan Gonsalves, Reporter
10:05 AM BOS Chair opened meeting and BOS board voted all in favor to open public hearing on Tax Classification.
Tax Classification Hearing – Assessor Kathy Stanley attended online with board members Tim Hammond and Helen Townsend. Karen Cruise opened the hearing and Kathy presented a tax rate recap with revenue data and outlined the steps in the annual process of setting the tax rate. Kathy noted that appx. 95 percent is from residential tax revenue and the rest is mainly personal property along with some commercial and a fraction from industrial. She explained details about “new growth” and excess levy capacity which in Princeton is comparatively high at $1,000,000. This is the extra tax revenue which could be (legally—without an override) charged to property owners under Prop. 2 ½. She then presented four questions which the Selectboard must vote on. These actions must then be approved by the state Bureau of Accounts before they are adopted. It was noted that property values were up about three percent since last year. Kathy noted that items (2) through (4) have minimal impact in Princeton and that past Selectboards have not adopted them.
ACTION: The Board voted to close the public hearing and voted all in favor to (1) adopt a single tax rate for FY’21, calculated at $16.12/$1,000 of valuation—up from $15.85 for FY’20; (2) not to adopt an open space discount; (3) not to adopt an exemption for seasonal/vacation properties, and (4) not to adopt a commercial exemption for small businesses.
10:15 AM S.B. voted all in favor to close the Tax Classification Hearing
BOA Board members left meeting.