Town Manager Matthew Sturgis provided the Town Council with an update on the current town-wide revaluation project at the September 11, 2023 Town Council meeting.  In consultation with the Town Assessor Clinton Swett, Sturgis said, "After review and analysis, the Assessor and Manager have come to the conclusion that the project is incomplete, with a number of properties still under review, specific classifications of properties having questions on current use programs such as tree growth, consideration of easements and other constraints to land value, and other outstanding items that frankly need more time for the project to be completed."  

As a result, Sturgis made a recommendation to the Town Council that the project's implementation be delayed until the next fiscal year to ensure a complete collection of data with thorough proofing.  Once a review, analysis, and final proofing is complete, new notifications will be sent to all property owners after the first of the year.  The Assessor and his team will then have two months to perform follow-up reviews with property owners, make additional adjustments as needed, and have the project completed at the beginning of the FY 2025 budget process.

Additionally, the council was asked to consider fixing the first half of the tax due date for FY 2024 from October 16 to Monday, October 23, 2023, in line with the current assessed values for the Town and the budget adopted in June.  The council voted unanimously to support the recommendation and change the due date.  

Chair Jeremy Gabrielson said that since everyone should know their new valuations by the time the budgeting process begins in the winter of 2024, "We will go into this year's budgeting process knowing what the total valuation number is and once we set the top number [the Town budget] in May, everyone will know exactly what their tax bill due in September [of 2024] would be and will have paid the first half of their tax bill by the time they go to the polls in November 2024."

Thee entirety of the Town Manager's update is provided below: