Peterborough’s deadline to file for an abatement on resident property values has come and gone, and according to town Assessing Clerk Ali Kreutz, the town received 37 applications for residential properties and four for commercial properties.
Of those, 25 were filed either on Feb. 28 or March 1, which was the deadline.
“There was definitely a but of a ‘rush’ as the deadline hit,” Kreutz said.
Due to market volatility, town assessments fell outside the state’s mandated range of 90% and 110% of actual market value, determined by comparing the most-recent assessed value to records of sales within a municipality, forcing a full-town revaluation three years into a five-year cycle in which normally about a fifth of properties in town would be assessed each year.
As a result, property values increased, with residential properties increasing in value by an average of 30%. The increase in property values led to the tax rate falling from $30.84 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $25.76 per $1,000, but the assessment increases could still lead to higher tax bills for many property owners.
For example, on a house that was worth $200,000 in 2020, the under then $30.84 tax rate would have been $6,168. If that same property increased in value by 35% to be worth $270,000 in 2021, the tax bill on the lower tax rate of $25.76 would be $6,955, an increase of 12.8%.
Residents responded negatively to the assessment increase, and the Select Board hosted a meeting for the town’s contracted assessor, Marybeth Walker, to present the reassessment data and answer questions.
Despite the controversy, Kreutz said that the number of applications was comparable to prior revaluation years.
“It’s more than the usual number of abatement applications received for a non-revaluation year, but I’d say this is in line with what we would expect to see following a revaluation, especially one that was so significant,” she said.
In 2018, the last year of a full revaluation in Peterborough, there were 36 abatements processed. In non-revaluation years, the average is about 10, according to Kreutz.
The abatement requests will be processed by the assessing office in different ways, depending on the reasons for abatement listed on the application.
“If someone has listed ‘physical data’ issues as their reason for submitting the application, we will reach out to the applicant and schedule an inspection of the property to confirm the details,” said Kreutz.
Following this inspection, the assessing official will provide a report to the assessor, and if necessary – such as in a situation where the property card lists three bathrooms and the property only has two – the information will be corrected and the value of the property will be adjusted accordingly.
“In non-reval years, this is the most-common kind of abatement for residential properties, and they are the most cut-and-dried,” said Kreutz.
The other reason that could be listed is a complaint in relation to “market data” or “level of assessment.” In response, the assessor will review supporting documents and investigate the data to see if the value is supported. From there, Kreutz said assessing officials have until July 1 to grant or deny the abatement.
“Usually, Assessor Marybeth Walker will make her recommendation to the Select Board to either grant or deny the request before then, but it depends on the individual application and the amount of work involved,” Kreutz said. “She provides a letter explaining her recommendation and, provided the Select Board agrees, I then mail the notice to the applicant, typically with a copy of Marybeth’s letter so they have a complete understanding of how the decision was made.”
If the abatement is granted, the applicant then receives a refund of taxes they overpaid in 2021, with interest. If the applicant has not paid those taxes yet, then the amount will be deducted from balance owed on taxes.
Kreutz added that if applicants disagree with the decision, they can file for an appeal by the deadline of Sept. 1.
“It’s safe to say we’re pretty busy in the assessing office at the moment,” she said.