June 1, 2026 – Board of Assessors – Video & Transcript
June 1, 2026 - Board of Assessors
okay thank you yes so it's 603 on uh june 1st and uh at my roll call vote we will open the meeting
mcnealy here zach ventures here and steve klitkert here we have a quorum is there any public comments i see no public comment okay thank you and now review the minutes of may 11th 2026 and that's on page three of your package page one page three and four two pages uh two pages total yeah i have no questions i read them i have no questions
we're through no questions okay could i have a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting yep i move that we accept the minutes as presented for monday may 11th 2026 for the open session may have a second second
mcnealy yes zach ventures yes and steve klitkert yes it's accepted i turn it over to you rob thank you so i'm on page five fiscal year 2026 calendar year 2026 this is motor vehicle and trailer exercise third commitment in the total tax dollar of 167 769 dollars and three cents this is to be issued june 5th okay can i have a motion to uh accept this warrant to the uh for the commitment the motor vehicle and trailer excise third commitment yep i move that we accept the third commitment for motor vehicle and trailer excise for evaluation of eight million seven nine seven five five six and fifty one cents and total tax of one hundred sixty seven thousand seven hundred sixty nine dollars and three cents with issue date of june 5th 2026. may have a second all those in favor
someone didn't like it zach ventures yeah and yeah zach ventures and steve uh okay steve clitgood yes so we uh unanimous we have an unanimous vote yes sorry god i'm on page eight in your package fiscal year 2026 notice of commitment for omitted and revised assessment tax uh this is shared with the bureau of local assessment division of local services on gateway and we had zero dollars and zero cents for omitted and revised assessment tax for real estate personal property and cpa just want the board to acknowledge this by vote please okay may have a motion to accept this memo for the 2026 admitted revised assessment of tax commitment i move that we accept the memo dated june 1 2026 for the fy 2026 admitted and revised assessment tax commitment for a total of zero dollars and zero cents and this covers real estate tax personal property tax and community preservation act tax we have a second and uh i second those in favor mcneely yes zach ventures yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you turning the page to page nine fiscal year 2026 notice of commitment chapter land rollback tax uh again we're looking for the board to acknowledge that we had zero dollars zero cents in rollback tax in chapter 61 61 a and 61 b
okay may have a motion to accept the 2026 chapter land rollback tax commitment yep i move that we accept the fy 2026 chapter land rollback tax commitment for zero dollars and zero zero cents covering chapter 61 uh rollback uh rollback tax uh rollback uh rollback tax uh rollback tax and chapter 61 b rollback tax have a second okay those in favor i'll do have mcneely yes zach ventures yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you turning the page to page 10 fiscal year 2027 notice of commitment amended tax base levy growth again we're looking for the board to acknowledge by vote that the la 13 that we submitted to the division of local services through gateway we stated we had zero omitted or revised zero unassessed in prior year 2026 uh growth value reported in prior year and permanently abated was zero net growth adjustment therefore was zero and amended growth was zero so again we're looking for the board to acknowledge that the information shared with the division of local services equates to zero dollars and zero cents for amended tax-based levy you can have a motion to accept the uh land-based levy growth commitment i move that we accept the fy 2027 la 13a amended tax-based levy growth commitment for a total of zero dollars and zero zero cents and this covers omitted or revised value committed to the tax collector portion unassessed in prior year fy 2026 growth value reported in prior year fy 2026 and permanently abated net growth adjustment in prior year 2026 tax rate and amended growth we have a second and second all those in favor god mcnealy yes zach for interest yes and steve click good yes it's unanimous thank you uh the next topic is not in your package we've been asked by the board of selectmen to set aside excuse me the select board to set aside monday june 15th which is two weeks from today to have a joint session with the select board to interview and possibly appoint at that meeting a new member for the board of assessors so the select board is looking for uh the board of assessors to agree to meet in two weeks time monday june 15th for a joint session to fill the vacant position on the board
so uh the office is requesting a motion to accept this meeting okay may i have a motion to accept a joint meeting on monday june 15th with the select board in order to have a interview candidates to the current board of assessors opening can i ask one one clarifying question what time is that meeting do we know um well we're a guest in their meeting okay um so i'm hoping to have an open session meeting at 6 p.m to conduct business and then hopefully conclude that by 6 30 and join it and join the uh select board okay do they need us there or what's happening we the the board of assessors voting or are we just there as purely guests and observing we are uh we're taking our own vote i think we have to take our own vote so um rob i think i i know they i i i think um we are asking to like like basically we we we had the open position that was um right someone was on the ballot they were voted in they um declined to be a you know kind of due to a number of um number of reasons um you know step steps down did not get sworn in and so we still have a remaining open seat um and so we we had like i had reached out to carol martin to make sure like the process to get someone appointed to fill the seat that that's what we're trying to follow right um yeah so that we can have our our full board and so this select board does have you know if we we have candidates we can we can bring forward a candidate and uh do the joint session and have that person appointed so would that person be uh joining us on a video call at that point do you think zach yeah i believe so yeah the the goal is for them to be interviewed by the the board of the select board um yeah so the the yeah and the candidate so we we have one candidate he he was actually a write-in candidate um but because of the you know he was he was the third yeah third on the ballot so didn't have the numbers uh yeah yeah so um yes so we can we can kind of make sure that uh and i think you know all the board members you know if if we have time everybody should should meet the candidate um you know in advance if possible will use the contact information for the potential candidate sure yeah yeah i can do that and then rob can you and then you can distribute that yes okay so i'll show we uh may have a proposal to have a joint meeting on uh june 15th doug yep i move that we have a joint meeting on monday june 15th with the select board in order to have the select board interview candidates for the current uh board of assessors opening okay have a second and i second and i second yeah all those in favor yes zach ventris yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you back to your package on page 11. so every year we have oh not every year i'm sorry uh year three working towards our recertification year in 2029 the department of local uh divisional local services asks us to do an update to where we are uh in the process page one
of two actually the second page is blank for some reason but i didn't want you alarm to see page one of two and not see page two which is blank um so the office submitted to the division of local services the comments to the right uh being asked by the division of local services to do this as soon as possible it's been uploaded this is for your information if you want to vote to acknowledge that we actually uploaded it that's up to the board but this is what we shared with the division of local services on may 13th so we have two new members that will be joining us at the end of may course 101 will be a priority after appointment it was uh where we are in the commercial industrial land schedule the response was the town has a small percentage of commercial 2.7598 percent and industrial at 0.0809 uh we'll consider land issues for value update prior to fy 2029 again that's the research year um they talked about we should review land schedules um land value standards meet the commissioners regulations changes to land building and associated land tables are derived from annual sales analysis uh we were asked about cyclical re-inspection our answer was whalenstown by law states real estate parcels must be inspected every six years rrc that's our personal property vendor canvases the town annually we are consistently aggressive in our inspection goals and i supplied them with a uh a visit history report to what we have done as of may 13. uh the last thing was uh the assessors should begin a formal verification of all sales uh the answer was these are completed on a weekly schedule mondays for prior week sales end of month report is shared with all departments to ensure quote up to date and quote parcel ownership across databases sales letters are mailed out monthly requesting site insip inspections and uh plus or minus 30 percent successful for complete inspections um in summary whalen is primarily residential 95.9296 with a majority being residential single family parcels the board has maintained a median assessment to sales ratio of 95 percent for interim valuations by adjusting building and land tables to reflect market value uh this was received it was acknowledged and we were thanked so that's where we stand on our third year or five year um progress towards certification do you want us to acknowledge this went out or is that just not necessary that would be up to the board
i don't have a memo for it at all no no i understand we can put it in the notes um as you deem fit well doug you want to propose that we just acknowledge that this has been sent you knew that i acknowledge that we sent the certification of directive progress into the mass department of revenue okay zach
yeah a second those in favor doug mcneela yes zach ventress yes and steve cliffgood yes so we we acknowledge it rob thank you um moving on i want to give the board an update on new growth so the office has been extremely busy with inspections data entry and analysis and our new growth currently sits at just over 300 000 and our goal is uh 600 plus i know finance uh the finance director has covered a minimum of 300k in the proposed budget so we're on track and again um we will be aggressive out in the field as the weather hopefully gets warmer and um another note is um we have to burn a lot of vacation time prior to june 30th so we're dodging that bullet as well getting people out of the office getting them to use their vacation time um and i know i think all three of us are are um pushing two weeks to next fiscal year to accommodate us being out in the field and doing our due diligence so thank you for the team yeah yeah rob is it does it accumulate or is it use it use it use or lose it you can transfer two weeks without question you can transfer an additional week if uh if the town manager approves um got it other time use it or lose it okay yeah it's pretty generous yeah that's good so uh topics not reasonably anticipated are there any none none none okay uh thought general thoughts and concerns well i think none none yeah none thank you
so our proposed next meeting would be monday june 15th an open session to conduct business for the board and then a joint session with the select board on or around 6 30 pm and again we're at their mercy for what's on their agenda um we really can't control the actual timetable right yeah and rob we we only have one candidate that's come forward correct uh that is the candidate you've brought forward i believe select board also advertised this position so i don't know okay we'll check yeah see if anyone has come forward from the general public yeah yeah and again it was advertised that it was vacant it was people had time to get on the ballot we had two candidates come forward with not enough time to get on the ballot um and then one that did and um okay so yeah i just wanted to kind of get a sense so the anticipation is we'll be going in with one proposed candidate for the the uh the 15th okay and if you'd be so kind again to share contact information for this individual um yes i will i will pass it along okay that'd be great and then uh we'll try to do it in an organized manner not to bombard the uh the individual and uh yeah set up some some type of schedule or whatever and get it done at once okay so um that's all the business the board excuse me the office has to share with the board this evening um ask the acting chair to adjourn and okay so it's 6 20 executive session sure 6 24 p.m um
well meeting will adjourn 200 executive session for purposes of applying with glc 59 section 60 and glc 214 section 18 is permitted by purpose 7 of glc 30a section 21a to review and discuss review the minutes from monday may 11th 6 30 executive session vote to accept and release and motor vehicle abatements for the month of may vote to accept the board will not return to open meeting therefore by roll call vote we shall adjourn this meeting steve klutgård yes exactly exactly thank you see everybody a in a couple minutes
mcnealy here zach ventures here and steve klitkert here we have a quorum is there any public comments i see no public comment okay thank you and now review the minutes of may 11th 2026 and that's on page three of your package page one page three and four two pages uh two pages total yeah i have no questions i read them i have no questions
we're through no questions okay could i have a motion to accept the minutes of the meeting yep i move that we accept the minutes as presented for monday may 11th 2026 for the open session may have a second second
mcnealy yes zach ventures yes and steve klitkert yes it's accepted i turn it over to you rob thank you so i'm on page five fiscal year 2026 calendar year 2026 this is motor vehicle and trailer exercise third commitment in the total tax dollar of 167 769 dollars and three cents this is to be issued june 5th okay can i have a motion to uh accept this warrant to the uh for the commitment the motor vehicle and trailer excise third commitment yep i move that we accept the third commitment for motor vehicle and trailer excise for evaluation of eight million seven nine seven five five six and fifty one cents and total tax of one hundred sixty seven thousand seven hundred sixty nine dollars and three cents with issue date of june 5th 2026. may have a second all those in favor
someone didn't like it zach ventures yeah and yeah zach ventures and steve uh okay steve clitgood yes so we uh unanimous we have an unanimous vote yes sorry god i'm on page eight in your package fiscal year 2026 notice of commitment for omitted and revised assessment tax uh this is shared with the bureau of local assessment division of local services on gateway and we had zero dollars and zero cents for omitted and revised assessment tax for real estate personal property and cpa just want the board to acknowledge this by vote please okay may have a motion to accept this memo for the 2026 admitted revised assessment of tax commitment i move that we accept the memo dated june 1 2026 for the fy 2026 admitted and revised assessment tax commitment for a total of zero dollars and zero cents and this covers real estate tax personal property tax and community preservation act tax we have a second and uh i second those in favor mcneely yes zach ventures yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you turning the page to page nine fiscal year 2026 notice of commitment chapter land rollback tax uh again we're looking for the board to acknowledge that we had zero dollars zero cents in rollback tax in chapter 61 61 a and 61 b
okay may have a motion to accept the 2026 chapter land rollback tax commitment yep i move that we accept the fy 2026 chapter land rollback tax commitment for zero dollars and zero zero cents covering chapter 61 uh rollback uh rollback tax uh rollback uh rollback tax uh rollback tax and chapter 61 b rollback tax have a second okay those in favor i'll do have mcneely yes zach ventures yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you turning the page to page 10 fiscal year 2027 notice of commitment amended tax base levy growth again we're looking for the board to acknowledge by vote that the la 13 that we submitted to the division of local services through gateway we stated we had zero omitted or revised zero unassessed in prior year 2026 uh growth value reported in prior year and permanently abated was zero net growth adjustment therefore was zero and amended growth was zero so again we're looking for the board to acknowledge that the information shared with the division of local services equates to zero dollars and zero cents for amended tax-based levy you can have a motion to accept the uh land-based levy growth commitment i move that we accept the fy 2027 la 13a amended tax-based levy growth commitment for a total of zero dollars and zero zero cents and this covers omitted or revised value committed to the tax collector portion unassessed in prior year fy 2026 growth value reported in prior year fy 2026 and permanently abated net growth adjustment in prior year 2026 tax rate and amended growth we have a second and second all those in favor god mcnealy yes zach for interest yes and steve click good yes it's unanimous thank you uh the next topic is not in your package we've been asked by the board of selectmen to set aside excuse me the select board to set aside monday june 15th which is two weeks from today to have a joint session with the select board to interview and possibly appoint at that meeting a new member for the board of assessors so the select board is looking for uh the board of assessors to agree to meet in two weeks time monday june 15th for a joint session to fill the vacant position on the board
so uh the office is requesting a motion to accept this meeting okay may i have a motion to accept a joint meeting on monday june 15th with the select board in order to have a interview candidates to the current board of assessors opening can i ask one one clarifying question what time is that meeting do we know um well we're a guest in their meeting okay um so i'm hoping to have an open session meeting at 6 p.m to conduct business and then hopefully conclude that by 6 30 and join it and join the uh select board okay do they need us there or what's happening we the the board of assessors voting or are we just there as purely guests and observing we are uh we're taking our own vote i think we have to take our own vote so um rob i think i i know they i i i think um we are asking to like like basically we we we had the open position that was um right someone was on the ballot they were voted in they um declined to be a you know kind of due to a number of um number of reasons um you know step steps down did not get sworn in and so we still have a remaining open seat um and so we we had like i had reached out to carol martin to make sure like the process to get someone appointed to fill the seat that that's what we're trying to follow right um yeah so that we can have our our full board and so this select board does have you know if we we have candidates we can we can bring forward a candidate and uh do the joint session and have that person appointed so would that person be uh joining us on a video call at that point do you think zach yeah i believe so yeah the the goal is for them to be interviewed by the the board of the select board um yeah so the the yeah and the candidate so we we have one candidate he he was actually a write-in candidate um but because of the you know he was he was the third yeah third on the ballot so didn't have the numbers uh yeah yeah so um yes so we can we can kind of make sure that uh and i think you know all the board members you know if if we have time everybody should should meet the candidate um you know in advance if possible will use the contact information for the potential candidate sure yeah yeah i can do that and then rob can you and then you can distribute that yes okay so i'll show we uh may have a proposal to have a joint meeting on uh june 15th doug yep i move that we have a joint meeting on monday june 15th with the select board in order to have the select board interview candidates for the current uh board of assessors opening okay have a second and i second and i second yeah all those in favor yes zach ventris yes and steve clitgood yes it's unanimous thank you back to your package on page 11. so every year we have oh not every year i'm sorry uh year three working towards our recertification year in 2029 the department of local uh divisional local services asks us to do an update to where we are uh in the process page one
of two actually the second page is blank for some reason but i didn't want you alarm to see page one of two and not see page two which is blank um so the office submitted to the division of local services the comments to the right uh being asked by the division of local services to do this as soon as possible it's been uploaded this is for your information if you want to vote to acknowledge that we actually uploaded it that's up to the board but this is what we shared with the division of local services on may 13th so we have two new members that will be joining us at the end of may course 101 will be a priority after appointment it was uh where we are in the commercial industrial land schedule the response was the town has a small percentage of commercial 2.7598 percent and industrial at 0.0809 uh we'll consider land issues for value update prior to fy 2029 again that's the research year um they talked about we should review land schedules um land value standards meet the commissioners regulations changes to land building and associated land tables are derived from annual sales analysis uh we were asked about cyclical re-inspection our answer was whalenstown by law states real estate parcels must be inspected every six years rrc that's our personal property vendor canvases the town annually we are consistently aggressive in our inspection goals and i supplied them with a uh a visit history report to what we have done as of may 13. uh the last thing was uh the assessors should begin a formal verification of all sales uh the answer was these are completed on a weekly schedule mondays for prior week sales end of month report is shared with all departments to ensure quote up to date and quote parcel ownership across databases sales letters are mailed out monthly requesting site insip inspections and uh plus or minus 30 percent successful for complete inspections um in summary whalen is primarily residential 95.9296 with a majority being residential single family parcels the board has maintained a median assessment to sales ratio of 95 percent for interim valuations by adjusting building and land tables to reflect market value uh this was received it was acknowledged and we were thanked so that's where we stand on our third year or five year um progress towards certification do you want us to acknowledge this went out or is that just not necessary that would be up to the board
i don't have a memo for it at all no no i understand we can put it in the notes um as you deem fit well doug you want to propose that we just acknowledge that this has been sent you knew that i acknowledge that we sent the certification of directive progress into the mass department of revenue okay zach
yeah a second those in favor doug mcneela yes zach ventress yes and steve cliffgood yes so we we acknowledge it rob thank you um moving on i want to give the board an update on new growth so the office has been extremely busy with inspections data entry and analysis and our new growth currently sits at just over 300 000 and our goal is uh 600 plus i know finance uh the finance director has covered a minimum of 300k in the proposed budget so we're on track and again um we will be aggressive out in the field as the weather hopefully gets warmer and um another note is um we have to burn a lot of vacation time prior to june 30th so we're dodging that bullet as well getting people out of the office getting them to use their vacation time um and i know i think all three of us are are um pushing two weeks to next fiscal year to accommodate us being out in the field and doing our due diligence so thank you for the team yeah yeah rob is it does it accumulate or is it use it use it use or lose it you can transfer two weeks without question you can transfer an additional week if uh if the town manager approves um got it other time use it or lose it okay yeah it's pretty generous yeah that's good so uh topics not reasonably anticipated are there any none none none okay uh thought general thoughts and concerns well i think none none yeah none thank you
so our proposed next meeting would be monday june 15th an open session to conduct business for the board and then a joint session with the select board on or around 6 30 pm and again we're at their mercy for what's on their agenda um we really can't control the actual timetable right yeah and rob we we only have one candidate that's come forward correct uh that is the candidate you've brought forward i believe select board also advertised this position so i don't know okay we'll check yeah see if anyone has come forward from the general public yeah yeah and again it was advertised that it was vacant it was people had time to get on the ballot we had two candidates come forward with not enough time to get on the ballot um and then one that did and um okay so yeah i just wanted to kind of get a sense so the anticipation is we'll be going in with one proposed candidate for the the uh the 15th okay and if you'd be so kind again to share contact information for this individual um yes i will i will pass it along okay that'd be great and then uh we'll try to do it in an organized manner not to bombard the uh the individual and uh yeah set up some some type of schedule or whatever and get it done at once okay so um that's all the business the board excuse me the office has to share with the board this evening um ask the acting chair to adjourn and okay so it's 6 20 executive session sure 6 24 p.m um
well meeting will adjourn 200 executive session for purposes of applying with glc 59 section 60 and glc 214 section 18 is permitted by purpose 7 of glc 30a section 21a to review and discuss review the minutes from monday may 11th 6 30 executive session vote to accept and release and motor vehicle abatements for the month of may vote to accept the board will not return to open meeting therefore by roll call vote we shall adjourn this meeting steve klutgård yes exactly exactly thank you see everybody a in a couple minutes