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If you wish to appeal your assessment on the October 1, 2009 Grand List,
you must file in writing no later than February 20, 2010.
Use the form below. Fill it out completely
and mail it to the Board of Assessment Appeals address that is on the
form. You or your authorized representative will be called to appear for
a hearing.
Assessment Appeal Form
(WORD format)
Assessment Appeal Form
(.pdf format)
___________________________
Information about
the Board of Assessment Appeals (BAA)
The
Board of Assessment Appeals is an official municipal agency. It is
designed to serve as an appeal body for taxpayers who believe that town
or city assessors erred in the valuation of their properties or
erroneously denied them exemptions.
It is
important to note that the board is not an assessing agency. It does
not value taxable property- that is the function of the assessors. It
is a review body, and as such serves independently of assessors.
The
Board is the first level of appeal from the actions of the assessors.
Its decisions are binding for one year and may be changed by the
assessor on the subsequent Grand List when a reduction of increase was
not equitably instituted.
The BAA is an independent
authority, with no right of action binding, in each instance, for a
period of more than one year. In most cases, it operates as an
intermediary level between the assessors and the courts.
The
BAA has 3 members who are elected. The BAA enables taxpayers to be heard
by their peers at no expense. No fees are charged for the appeal
process. Taxpayers do not have to be represented by counsel.
The BAA has 8 distinctive
powers, which they may exercise at their own discretion. The may:
1. Administer
oaths in cases coming before them (S1-24 and S1-25).
2. Correct
clerical omissions or mistakes in the assessment of taxes (S12-60)
3. Add
to the assessment lists the names of people who own taxable property in
the town, but have been omitted from the lists (S12-111)
4. Increase
the number, quantity or amount of property in any person’s list
(S12-111).
5. Reduce
the list of any person appearing before the Board by decreasing the
valuation, quantity or amount of any item (S12-113).
6. Make
a supplemental list of any taxable property omitted by the assessors
(S12-115).
7. Shall
add 25 percent to the value of any additions (S12-111) or supplemental
lists of personal property (S12-115) as a penalty.
8. Elect
not to conduct appeal hearing for any commercial, industrial, utility or
apartment properties with assessment greater than $500,000 (S12-111).
In addition to these
discretionary powers, the Boards have statutory duties, which are
mandated by law. They must:
1. Meet
in March to hear appeals or April if the assessor was granted an
extension for filing the Grand List. These meetings must be held on
business days, which may include Saturdays; the last meeting must be no
later than the last business day in March or April. The Board must also
convene at least once in September solely for motor vehicle appeals.
2. Notify
each aggrieved taxpayer, who filed a written appeal of the date, time
and place of their appeal hearing by the March 1 or April 1 deadline.
3. Hear
appeals of persons claiming to be aggrieved by the actions of the
assessor.
4. Post
notice with the town or city clerk, and publish the notice at least 10
days prior to the meetings.
5. Mail
to taxpayers written or printed notices at least one week before
increasing the taxpayer’s list or adding the names of omitted persons.
Also mail within one week of completion, the supplemental list of any
property omitted by the assessors.
6. Grant
exemptions to disabled veterans whose proof of eligibility was not filed
within the deadline required for assessors to grant exemptions.
7. All
actions of the Board must be recorded in the minutes of the Board’s
meetings. See the following chapter on Freedom of Information
requirements for meeting minutes.
8. Provide
notification, in writing, to each person making an appeal, of the
outcome of his or her appeal. The notification must include information
describing the owner’s right to appeal the determination of the Board.
This must be done within a week of making the decision.
If you
are interested in a more complete and detailed
description of the BAA, you may want to click this
link to read the BAA Handbook. |
