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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Board of Civil Authority - 07/22/2021BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 22 JULY 2021 The South Burlington Board of Civil Authority held a meeting on Thursday, 22 July 2021, at 6:30 p.m., in the Conference Room of the Police Station, 19 Gregory Drive and by Go to Meeting remote participation. Members Present: C. Shaw, Chair; D. Kinville, M. St. Germain, A. Gross, B. Gross, L. Vera, M. Emery, K. Nugent, C. Trombly, C Wagner, C. Santiorello. Also Present: A. Bullock, Deputy City Manager 1. Agenda Review: Members agreed to move the challenge of voters to follow the appeals discussion. 2. Approve Minutes from 24 February 2021 Mr. St. Germain moved to approve the Minutes of 24 February 2021. Ms. Emery seconded. Motion passed with all present voting in favor. 3. Appeal overview and training by the City Attorney: Mr. Bolduc reminded Board members that they act in a judicial capacity, not a legislative capacity. He noted that the VLCT has guidance on the general conduct of the Board. Mr. Bolduc then explained that all appellants should be asked to take the oath, and BCA members should also reaffirm their oath before the appeals begin. Board members should then be asked to reveal any conflict of interest or ex parte communication. Mr. Bolduc explained that “conflict of interest” can be direct or indirect and usually involves a financial interest. A member can say “I know this person,” but that does not represent a conflict as long as the Board member can say this will not affect their ability to be impartial. Mr. Bolduc noted that public perception is important. Ms. Vera asked what if she herself is an appellant. Mr. Bolduc said she would have to recuse herself from all appeals. Ms. Kinville added that if all Board members were appellants, the Board would not be able to meet. There have been gentlemen agreements among members of a BCA that half of the Board grieves this year and the other half next year. That allows the Board to still hear appeals. Ms. Kinville noted the city has over 7,000 appraised parcels. Based on current information, the total number of appeals could be as high as 500, the number of people who grieved to the assessor. To date there have been 11 appeals received. The due date for appeals is next Friday, so the total number should be known by then. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 22 JULY 2021 PAGE 2 Mr. Shaw asked if people can go to the Assessor to appeal at this time. Mr. Bolduc said there could be a stipulated agreement, and the Assessor could come to the Board and say “I agree with the appellant,” and the appellant could then waive the right to an inspection of the property. Ms. Kinville stressed that the Board must make decisions based on what is presented to them. The inspection team can then come in with an estimate of what they feel the assessment should be. Mr. Bolduc said there must be a minimum of 3 Board members for an inspection. They have 30 days in which to complete the inspection and then 7 days after that to report to the Board. Mr. Bolduc noted that the tax rate will be approved by the City Council tomorrow night, which may calm some people. Ms. Kinville was asked if she recalled the percent from 2006 of how many appeals were raised, lowered or remained the same with the Board’s decision. She noted that at the time of the last reappraisal, half of the appeals resulted in the appraisal remaining the same, and half were lowered by some amount. Mr. Shaw asked what if there can’t be an agreement with the appellant on an inspection time. Mr. Bolduc said the BCA makes the schedule, trying to make reasonable accommodation to avoid litigation. Ms. Kinville said the inspection team will usually ask what works for the appellant and try to accommodate them. Mr. Shaw said the Board will comply with the state and federal COVID guidelines at the time of hearings and inspections. Ms. Vera said that should be in the letter sent to appellants. Mr. Shaw said that current CDC/VDH guidelines would be followed regarding COVID protocols and that if any inspectors/home members had symptoms that we would cancel/reschedule inspections. Ms. Kinville said the Board has 64 days from next Friday to begin the hearings. All hearings must be opened by 2 October 2021. 4. Property Tax Appeals to BCA: a. Discussion and approval of letter to appellants Ms. Kinville reminded members that appellants don’t have to appear for a hearing, in which case the Board can use the information at hand. An inspection date can be set. If the appellant doesn’t let the BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 22 JULY 2021 PAGE 3 team in, the team can report that and their appeal would be denied but still reported to the Board for the record. Members agreed to give about 8 minutes to the appellant, 5 minutes to the assessor and about 5 minutes for their own questions. Members agreed to a sentence to read: “The Board of Civil Authority will comply with present public health guidelines. If you or your family have symptoms, please notify the City Clerk.” They also agreed on language to require “in person,” not remote appearances, unless other arrangements have been made in writing. b. Discussion on Inspection report format: The report will include a section for “discrepancies” that the inspection committee could write down what was different from the lister card. There is a second page of the inspection report that is not part of public record and is presented in deliberative session titled “Recommendation of Inspection Team”. That section includes the current assessment and what the committee recommends the assessment should be. Mr. Grossman then moved to approve the inspection report format as updated and amended. Ms. Grossman seconded. All members present voted in favor. Mr. St. Germain moved to approve the letter to appellants as updated and amended. Mr. Grossman seconded. All members present voted in favor. c. Review number of appellants as of meeting date: Ms. Kinville said there are 562 who could appeal to the Board. Eleven have been received. Appeals can be made by email. d. Discuss how to handle the appeals: dates, times, categories, number per night, etc.: Ms. Kinville said the appellant has to be given 10-14 days notice of the hearing. This means letters should go out soon. She suggested setting several nights for appeals and then a night for the first group of inspection reports. She suggested holding off on commercial properties until later. Members agreed to set aside every Thursday in August for meetings with the first group to be heard on 5 August. BOARD OF CIVIL AUTHORITY 22 JULY 2021 PAGE 4 Ms. Kinville noted that she will try to find a room in City Hall that can be used on Thursday nights into September. 5. Bi-annual Challenge of Voters: Ms. Kinville noted there have been a lot of challenges based on undelivered ballots that were returned to the city. Those people would have to prove their residency in order to vote. There are also 451 people who last voted prior to December 2019. Ms. Kinville said she will make a list and Board members can review this and note any people they are sure are still residents of the city. Ms. Kinville then moved that the City Clerk’s office perform the bi-annual purge of voters with the last voting date prior to December, 2019, after review by the Board of Civil Authority. Ms. Vera seconded. The motion passed with all present voting in favor. 6. Other Business: No other business was presented. As there was no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned by common consent at 8:10 p.m. _____________________________ Clerk