Dozens of Rindge residents flocked to public meetings this fall after property values skyrocketed following a town-wide revaluation by Avitar Associates.
In October, the Select Board held a meeting where more than 100 residents attended to discuss how to move forward after the initial assessments showed an overall increase in the town’s valuation of 97%, with many residents seeing home values double or triple.
At that time, Select Board Chair Bob Hamilton said the board had fielded dozens of calls from upset and confused residents, some of whom were reporting that assessments contained incorrect information or were out of line with other professional assessment or area property sales. Town officials received complaints about assessments in particular neighborhoods, including lakefront properties and mobile home parks.
At the time, the Select Board expressed dissatisfaction with Avitar over the lateness of its final report, which left the town unsure of whether those complaints had been addressed and to what level.
The town went as far as to request that local representatives, including State Sen. Kevin Avard and State Reps. John Hunt and Jim Qualey, meet Tuesday with the Department of Revenue Administration commissioner to discuss whether the town could use its current assessment while it either did a new assessment or continued to work with Avitar until the new assessments were accurate to their satisfaction. The DRA told the group that Rindge must use Avitar’s assessment or continue working with the company until satisfied with the results, and denied the request to use the town’s old assessment.
Avitar has since submitted its final evaluation report, after adjustments made based on reviews after the preliminary assessments. The final assessment decreased by about $70 million from the initial report, and was an overall 89% increase from the town’s previous year’s valuation.
Among the adjustments made by Avitar were changes to assessments in the neighborhood of 4th Street, as well as the parts of Rindge that are accessible only through Massachusetts. Avitar also reduced the assessed cost per square foot for mobile homes from $148 to $140, and made some changes to assessment criteria for waterfront homes, including reducing the value for seasonal homes and reducing the base value rate for waterfront homes.
In November, after the release of the final assessment, the town held another public meeting, which was less well-attended than the first overflowing meeting, but still had residents who said their concerns weren’t fully addressed.
During November’s meeting, the board moved forward with submitting Avitar’s finalized assessment, which was required for the town to set the tax rate. Hamilton said that abatement requests can be submitted after residents receive their tax bills, and will be addressed in the order in which they’re received. They will be reviewed by Avitar representatives, who will make a recommendation. The Select Board will have the final say on whether an abatement is approved.
Roberta Oeser, the former interim town administrator, said in November that the impacts of the revaluation will be an ongoing issue.
“This whole thing is a disaster for the town. It’s going to go on for years,” Oeser said. “I already heard about somebody that’s going to have to sell their house because there’s no way they can afford the increase.”