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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Board of Civil Authority - 08/05/2021BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 5 AUGUST 2021 The South Burlington Board of Civil Authority held a meeting on Thursday, 5 August 2021, at 6:00 p.m., in room 301, City Hall, 180 Market Street. Members Present: C. Shaw, Chair; C. Trombly, D. Kinville, M. St. Germain, A. Gross, B. Gross, M. Emery, T. Barritt, H. Riehle, Sen. M. Sirotkin, Sen. T. Chittenden, P. Mahoney, C. Wagner, C. Santiorello Also Present: M. Lyons, Assessor; M. Campbell, A. Robinson, L. Bresee 1. Emergency Evacuation Plans: Ms. Kinville reviewed the procedure for evacuation in case of an emergency. Mr. Shaw reviewed guidance for the wearing of masks which is encouraged but not mandated. 2. Comments from the public not related to the agenda: No comments were made. 3. BCA Oath: Ms. Kinville administered the Oath to members of the Board. 4. Approve Minutes from 22 July 2021 Ms. Emery moved to approve the Minutes of 22 July 2021. Mr. St. Germain seconded. Motion passed with all present voting in favor. 5. Hear appeals and set inspection date: Mr. Shaw explained the process and directed members to read the regulations provided tonight. He also explained the nature of conflicts of interest and asked if any members felt they have such conflicts. Ms. Riehle, Ms. Emery, Sen. Chittenden, Mr. Barritt and Mr. Shaw all indicated that they were acquainted with Mr. Bresee but felt they could hear the appeal without bias. a. Matthew Campbell 20 Knoll Circle Mr. Campbell and the City Assessor were sworn in. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 5 AUGUST 2021 PAGE 2 Mr. Campbell explained that he felt he was being assessed higher than his direct neighbors. His property is one of the oldest in the neighborhood and is the highest valued. The property closest to him is assessed $33,000 below his; other direct neighbors are assessed $100,000 and $80,000 lower. Mr. Campbell said he bought the property in 2017 for $351,000. It was reassessed in 2018 for $426,000. It is now assessed $573,000., an increase of 35% since 2018 and 64% since 2017. Mr. Campbell noted that the neighboring homes are larger than his and have solar roofs. His property is 2300 sq. ft. He said the only changes they have made were to paint and replace the basement flooring. Mr. Campbell said he felt they got a “double hit” with the assessment. Other homes in the neighborhood had not been reassessed since the last city-wide assessment. This assessment got them up to $450,000-$470,000. He said a 35% increase to his purchase price would make sense. Ms. Lyons explained what the assessor was to do: they were not to adjust for grades or age or quality factors. In this case, the computer said the value per square foot was $216.78. The adjusted sales price fell in line with sales. One July 2, there was a sale in the neighborhood for $620,000. Based on the quality of the home, Ms. Lyons felt the assessment of $520,000 was fair. Ms. Lyons said she did the same calculations for 19 Knoll Circle and for a home on Highland Terrace. Sen. Chittenden asked how Highland Terrace coincides with Knoll Circle as those homes seem to be of higher quality. Mr. Trombly asked what drive the number. Ms. Lyons said condition, quality, location, land. Ms. Emery asked if older homes depreciate faster. Ms. Lyons said it depends on maintenance. Sen. Sirotkin asked where the numbers being used come from. Ms. Lyons said from the previous assessor. Sen Sirotkin asked the relative importance of a sales price vs. other factors. Ms. Lyons said that in the assessing world, she cannot do sales valuing. She has to look at what is happening in the neighborhood. She noted real estate is “hot” right now which also helped to drive the adjustment. She said most of what the Assessor used were sales figures from 2018. Ms. Riehle asked when do inflated prices of today become what is used for an evaluation. Ms. Lyons said the State does a CLA based on 3 years of sales. If the market keeps up, that will happen. Ms. Emery asked if the condition of siding counts. Ms. Lyons said it does. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 5 AUGUST 2021 PAGE 3 Ms. Lyons said the city had a mass appraisal which does not look at individual houses but breaks down by neighborhood. Mr. Campbell said that helps his argument. His appraisal is the “outlier” in the neighborhood and should be more in line with other homes. He stressed that his is not arguing the percentage. He is arguing the starting point. Ms. Gross asked what Mr. Campbell felt would be a fair value. Mr. Campbell said $474,000. Sen. Sirotkin said the question is whether Mr. Campbell is being over-appraised or the other properties are being under-appraised. Mr. Trombly said that is what the BCA has to determine. Mr. Gross asked what factor a view has. Ms. Lyons said it is part of “location.” The city does not have a “view tax.” Testimony in this appeal was closed. An inspection team was then appointed consisting of: Sen. Chittenden (team leader), Mr. Mahoney, Mr. St. Germain. They agreed with the appellant to view the property on 7 August at 10 a.m. The appeal was then continued to 19 August 2021 when the BCA will hear the committee’s report. b. Amos & Karen Robinson 1437 Spear Street Mr. Robinson cited Article 9 of the Vermont Constitution which speaks to equalization in a district and said that means his house must be assessed so that it is compatible with other houses in the area. Mr. Robinson said he bought his home in 2018. They have made no upgrades and put on no additions. Their assessment went up 57% while neighboring properties went up 16% and 21.4% even though they have more square footage. Mr. Robinson added that when he made note of this to Tyler Technologies and they said the other values don’t weigh in. Mr. Robinson said that is a violation of State law. Mr. Robinson said they purchased their house for $1,800,000 in 2018. The previous assessment on the house was $1,066,000. The current assessment is $1,671,700, and increase of 57%. Mr. Robinson provided a sheet with comparables and noted his home is 2,000 sq. ft. smaller than other homes. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 5 AUGUST 2021 PAGE 4 Ms. Lyons said the property is 3.08 acres and has an excellent rating. There are 211 sq. ft. in the basement of which 1,048 is finished. The value per square foot is $308.42. She believed the assessed value is accurate. Mr. Trombly asked why the other properties Mr. Robinson listed not included in Ms. Lyons’ figures. Ms. Lyons said because she “chose not to.” Mr. Robinson said the property chosen by the assessor is to the north of theirs, while the properties he provided are in his direct neighborhood. He felt those properties were ignored by the assessor because they didn’t adhere to the assessor’s case. He said those properties are at least equal to or better than his. He asked that the Board adhere to the Constitution. Sen. Sirotkin asked whether there was a reason this property wasn’t reappraised when the Robinsons bought it. Ms. Lyons said the city was then within the allowable CLA, and there were no reappraisals based on sales prices. Ms. Kinville asked what Mr. Robinson what he thinks his property should be assessed at and he answered $1,244,722 or $1,394,132 which is using the average square footing price of his neighbors. Sen. Chittenden said the applicant acknowledges paying $1,800,000 and now is saying that the property is worth $1,244,000. Mr. Robinson said he was not questioning the value. It is a question of equalization. Either his property is valued too high or the neighboring properties are valued too low. The testimony was then closed. An inspection team of Mr. Trombley (team leader), Mr. Shaw and Ms. Wagner was appointed. They will inspect the property on 7 August, and the inspection team will report back to the Board on 19 August. c. Lou Bresee 21 Cranwell Avenue Mr. Bresee said he bought the house in 1968 when it was then a year and a half old. It is a well- established neighborhood. He said he was not surprised by the increase; what astounded him was that his neighbors were assessed much less. His assessment increased by 44% while neighboring properties increased by 29%. Mr. Bresee said he has found out that there are “outliers” all over the place. In his neighborhood, houses are the same age, same condition. All of a sudden, he is 15% higher than the rest of them. He BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 5 AUGUST 2021 PAGE 5 said there have been no upgrades to the property since the last appraisal in 2006. He noted that half of the homes have the same floor plan as his home with similar lot sizes. Ms. Lyons said she felt Mr. Bresee’s property was more in line with 24 Laurel Hill valued at $423,000, which is lower than the current assessment of $441,700. Sen. Sirotkin asked why this property is the exception to the neighborhood. Ms. Lyons said it is because of the data put into the computer which is based on what was on the card. Mr. Mahoney asked how an inspection team will assess “quality.” Ms. Lyons said it is purely opinion. There are no criteria. Mr. Bresee said the issue is equity, and that is why he is appealing. The testimony was then closed. An inspection team was appointed consisting of Sen. Sirotkin (team head), Mr. Shaw and Ms. Riehle. They agreed with the appellant to inspect the property on Saturday, 7 August at 1 p.m. and report back to the Board on 19 August. Ms. Riehle then moved to continue the meeting until 19 August, 6 p.m. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Other Business: Ms. Kinville gave members examples of previous inspection reports and explained the report form and the recommendation form. She stressed the inspection team could not look at other houses to compare a property to other properties. As there was no further business to come before the Board, Ms. Riehle moved to adjourn. Mr. St. Germain seconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. _____________________________ Clerk