March 12, 2010
Tax Assessor John McGrory will meet with residents who believe their assessed values are too high. Before you decide to darken his door, though, McGrory says be prepared to answer Assessment Clerk Jackie MacMahon’s questions. “She’ll say, ‘OK, take your assessed value and divide it by .1841—because we believe that 18.41% will be the level of assessment ratio—and that will be your market value on the first of June, 2010. It is this market value figure that you would consult to determine whether your assessment is correct.
Residents may use the computer at the assessor’s desk at town hall to pull up their own property record or any other and view both its assessed value and market value.
Dates available for tax grievance appointments
The dates and times available for tax grievance over the next four months are as follows: Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 17 and 24, May 8 and 15; and three Mondays, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. April 19, May 3 and May 10. Come prepared to make your case. The 15-minute meetings are by appointment only. To schedule a meeting, call Assessment Clerk Jackie MacMahon at 238-4722.
The burden is on the property owner
There is a presumption under the law that the assessed value determined by the assessor is correct. The burden of proof falls on the complainant to show otherwise. You may contest your assessment on three grounds: unequal assessment (the most common complaint), excessive or unlawful assessment, or misclassification of the property.
Informal meeting with assessor
The meetings offered beginning Saturday, April 17, are informal insofar as you will speak with McGrory rather than appear before the board of assessment review, but they are genuine opportunities to make your case to the assessor and persuade him that your assessment should be reduced.
Your assessment will not rise. Unless, cautioned McGrory, “you’ve been doing something sneaky, building and adding things to your house, making significant improvements to your house without getting a building permit. And I have ways of finding it out, Google Earth and more sophisticated tools as well. I had a case in town of an owner insisting he did not have a two-car garage. He had a picture taken at an angle that didn’t show much. I pulled up a program on the computer and told him, ‘Here’s your house and here’s two garage doors and two cars.’ You could almost read the numbers on the plates on his cars.”
McGrory added, “I’m not after maintenance such as a new roof or new windows. But if you’ve been building and not telling us about it, stay away from town hall, because you’ll be reassessed and pay a penalty besides.”
After making your case to McGrory, you’ll hear back from him in one to two weeks. If he lowers your assessment, you will sign an agreement stating that you will not grieve that same property’s assessment for one year. If you are unsuccessful, you can decide to take your case to the board of assessment review in June. But McGrory will meet you there, too, to defend his assessment of your property.
Why everyone won’t run to the tax assessor in this down market
The way the system works, each year the state’s calculation of the equalization rate captures the current market value of properties. It “trues up” the assessment value figure to match the market value number. And not everyone lines up to grieve: owners who believe they are under-assessed aren’t likely to appear to grieve their taxes, and most properties are properly assessed.
What to bring to your informal meeting
You must bring supporting documentation to demonstrate that your house is worth less than the market value the assessor shows in his records. “A professional appraisal will do, but that’s kind of expensive,” acknowledged McGrory, “and it would have to be a fairly recent one. An appraisal of three or four years ago isn’t much use. You can ask your local realtor for a comparative market analysis, or CMA, or show evidence of the sale of some neighboring houses. And no comparing a 4,000 square foot house with a 900 square foot house. They have to be fairly similar.”
Copyright 2012 NewCastleNOW.org