[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6348704,"mediaKeyId","2240737-7316267f8c4094c5355631f1cf7afb4f","parentId",2240737,"title","Vermont GIS officials tell Ways & Means parcel data changes needed to support fair, timely reappraisals","audioSeconds",2822,"startMs",96955,"endMs",2919080,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2240737-7316267f8c4094c5355631f1cf7afb4f&start=96&end=2919","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2240737-7316267f8c4094c5355631f1cf7afb4f/thumbnail_96955.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6348704/Vermont/Vermont-GIS-officials-tell-Ways-Means-parcel-data-changes-needed-to-support-fair-timely-reappraisals","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6348704-50ddba6cdaaee2139130dd2abce66c57/orig.mp4?Expires=1775456167&Signature=XBPxwcgZqTZbyq5qr3qeAh94jcBcoDy0NqvpbthnGUzJw2OeymqllTplZzcb2ag9O-euCIiR0oVnElypXWLtq6PGD0bkn9dGJ~Z59CHvBRg6mpD-ehXZQhbiiaMZxs25Zq11lXnRMQ3~fGZ6W2Bw4bidzvWgROBv-k1TzpZbPA8IVV6oIifuds9h3VABbEnxglMjYeguECPU72DjFBdwjVoTevj3MZkyFo5kGAKb8PwzMYEuAWcwKd5XzY4~0Jz4Wzx3cuT2QLG2K~SUFwOFUmepWvR3hZEI4p~CgzGg9a6kerChDOQKiOwchPkRraNCrzdq6~Sbe3QZ0nkPPGHuVw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-02-06T18:20:43Z","article","John Adams, director of the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI), and VCGI parcel program staff told the House Ways & Means Committee on an informational briefing that the statewide parcel dataset underpins many state functions including property valuation, natural-resources permitting and transportation right-of-way work.

The presentation said most Vermont municipalities now maintain digital parcel maps but that differences in how towns define and submit parcel geometry, and a statutory definition that aggregates parcels by common ownership, hinder the state’s ability to track the smallest sellable units of land needed for accurate assessments. “The parcel program…is one major component of what VCGI does,” John Adams said, adding that the office builds the state’s foundational geospatial datasets used by state and local agencies and thousands of citizens.

VCGI staff said the technical problem traces in part to the statutory parcel definition in current law and to uneven municipal submissions. Tim Terway, who oversees the parcel program at VCGI, told the committee that the center’s recommendations—grouped into statutory changes, incentives/funding, technical guidance and technology investments—include amending the parcel definition so the state can track the smallest map unit (what municipalities often call “inactive” or “active” parcels) while preserving the current administrative aggregation used for tax administration. “If you invert the definition…you don't lose any information,” Terway said of the proposed change, which he connected to 32 V.S.A. §4152 and Act 68, the statute directing this work.

Why it matters: VCGI staff told members that parcel data are used across state government. They cited the Agency of Natural Resources' need to intersect permits with parcels, the Agency of Transportation’s right-of-way workflows and PVR (Property Valuation and Review) uses for assessment work. Terway said the statewide parcel resource now supports roughly a quarter-million annual users through web viewers and that the “SPAN” (school property account number) is the practical unique identifier that allows reliable joins between map geometry and grand-list tables.

Scope and quality issues: VCGI reported progress—more than 90% of municipalities now maintain digital parcel data—but said only about two-thirds of submitted municipal geometry is fully compliant with state data standards or requires only minor edits. The presentation said 44 municipalities submitted updated geometry in 2024 and that roughly one-third of town submissions need major edits or are not joinable to grand-list records. The briefing also warned of large acreage discrepancies: VCGI estimated roughly 177,000 acres in measurable disagreement between map acreage and grand-list acreage and another 357,000 acres in categories such as overlapping town boundaries, rights-of-way, or stacked/“unlanded” parcel conditions (condominiums and common-interest parcels).

Recommended steps: VCGI gave four broad recommendation types. First, amend statute to treat the smallest mappable unit as the tracked parcel while preserving administrative aggregation for tax purposes (VCGI cited language mapping to 32 V.S.A. §4152 as an example). Second, tie incentives or funding to standardized data submission (per-parcel payments or contract guidance) so municipalities and any future assessment districts have consistent expectations. Third, expand technical guidance and training to reduce submission errors and support town contracts with mapping vendors. Fourth, increase the frequency and resolution of statewide orthoimagery and make oblique imagery options available through state contracts so local governments can measure building change and support assessments; VCGI said imagery purchases would be available under existing contracting vehicles.

Other items discussed: VCGI highlighted the Vermont Land Survey Library (a statutory repository created in 2020) as a place to deposit registered land surveys, recommended clearer guidance on how to treat rights-of-way acreage for taxation, and urged coordination between any redesign of assessment jurisdictions and parcel submission rules to avoid duplicated work. Terway noted that Connecticut and other states have adopted similar centralized grabs of CAMA (computer-assisted mass appraisal) or parcel datasets and that standardized, survey-linked land records and digital land-record initiatives would help track easements, conservation parcels and other land-based policy goals such as conservation targets cited in Act 59 of 2023.

Committee reaction and next steps: Committee members asked about privacy concerns for higher-resolution and oblique imagery; Terway and Adams said the products are photographic and similar in kind to other public imagery products and that data governance choices—what PVR and towns advise for inclusion—will determine what becomes public. VCGI staff closed by saying the next step is drafting legislative language informed by the report and the presentations and that they would adapt recommendations depending on how the legislature resolves assessment jurisdiction questions.

Ending: VCGI presented a technical, multi-part plan that would require legislative choices about parcel definition and incentives for standardized municipal submissions. Staff framed the recommendations as flexible: they said the technical fixes and incentives can be adapted whether assessment responsibilities remain municipal or move to a new regional structure, but the statutory definition and data-submission rules must align with whatever assessment-jurisdiction decision the legislature makes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Ways and Means, 2025-02-06 1:20PM","oneSentenceSummary","John Adams, director of the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI), and parcel program staff told the House Ways & Means Committee that inconsistent municipal parcel maps and a statutory parcel definition that aggregates by ownership are limiting the state’s ability to support timely, fair property reappraisals.","taxTitle","Ways & Means, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Committees, Legislative , Vermont","taxId",35157,"location","Vermont","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6348699,"Assessment expert says Vermont’s ratio study shows regressive patterns; urges districts, time adjustments and audits",2841,2846434,4921,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2240737-7316267f8c4094c5355631f1cf7afb4f&start=2846&end=4","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2240737-7316267f8c4094c5355631f1cf7afb4f/thumbnail_2846434.jpg","/articles/6348699/Vermont/Assessment-expert-says-Vermonts-ratio-study-shows-regressive-patterns-urges-districts-time-adjustments-and-audits","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6348699-6ef4a9ec6492d17ca67085da4482768c/orig.mp4?Expires=1775456167&Signature=Thl~1L2vT1WWnFxVOU4H~lVjZ4mtyk3b8RlfM6Guwm3NeCtlL4~78kJHoec8~HA2FMs2X78LAJB5xynp7V9cTlkx2QuwbzufQzGEJjtObCaLc4gT0blBbR3rmkzXbzjgHd0oqEGiE6XOxszd97mUQJiB-gGmGMjF0e~gLlAKopxYrOeruNE1u-tGOsy~FrgVEfJ-D4-Bo2pwMlgYXg70PFKP2xIpE42VEfC7RT3rsDUTR34vppiQrbHliU7N2LYgdRymsfM56Q4Mu~ssOhTLih~9D-MzUCf2zLFDNcSRDrXhDuE8RdqAjLs4Mr1kEuVReGbiAiz0AF07wpWUMbAU-w__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Chris Landon, an assessment consultant and instructor with professional designations in mass appraisal, told the House Ways & Means Committee that an analysis of fiscal-year-2022 sales and assessment data shows multiple statistical indicators of regressivity and horizontal inequity in Vermont’s current ratio-study approach.

Landon said he ran the Lincoln Institute–inspired vertical-equity tests on a cleaned FY2022 dataset drawn from PVR records, using the CLA (common level of appraisal) to equalize and trimming only outliers per standard practice. “When we look here, the trend line is down and to the right,” Landon said, describing decile medians of assessment-to-sales ratios; he said the pattern indicates lower-valued properties tended to be assessed at higher relative levels than higher-valued properties.

Key findings and why they matter: Landon said the dataset produced multiple failing or out-of-range indicators: a median assessment-to-sales ratio near parity (1.008) but decile breakdowns that show a regressive pattern; a coefficient of dispersion (COD) for the rural category outside the recommended 5–20 range; a price-related differential (PRD) and price-related bias (PRB) that suggest regressivity; a Spearman rank correlation indicating a moderate regressive association; and Gini/Lorenz-based measures showing meaningful divergence. Landon told the committee these multiple signals together point to systematic inequities that would not be visible if the study relied only on older single metrics.

Recommended fixes: Landon recommended several changes to improve equity testing and assessment practice:

- Use larger assessment districts (he proposed five districts) to increase sample size and the law-of-large-numbers reliability for ratio studies.
- Build ratio studies using CAMA/camera variables (building type, units, age) rather than only class/town buckets, so tests reflect more comparable property cohorts.
- Apply time adjustments to sales so all transactions are treated as if priced on a common date instead of mixing markets across a three-year window without adjustment.
- Implement independent audits of municipal ratio studies (municipalities produce studies; a state oversight agency would audit them), and adopt a continuous-improvement program that adds multiple vertical- and horizontal-equity tests now available from recent research and Lincoln Institute tools.

Limitations and methodology: Landon said he used the entire FY2022 sales dataset after basic trimming rules (removing sales < $10,000, missing SPANs and the extreme 5% tails used for 95% confidence). He said he did not perform sales validation (he used submitted sales as-is) and did not apply time-adjustments in the test runs so the committee could see raw, year-based signals; he recommended testing with time adjustments as a next step. He also discouraged immediate reliance on AI for valuation adjustments, saying current tools are not yet mature for this use.

Committee response: Members thanked Landon for the detailed statistical review and described his recommendations as “actionable.” A committee member invited Landon to return for follow-up when the committee examines draft statutory language and assessment-district proposals.

Ending: Landon said the evidence from multiple, modern equity tests suggests Vermont should update ratio-study methods and oversight to better detect and correct regressivity; he urged time adjustments, larger districts for stability and independent audits before major structural changes to assessment practice are finalized.","Chris Landon, a mass-appraisal instructor and consultant, told the House Ways & Means Committee that FY2022 sales and assessment data generate multiple statistical indicators of regressivity in Vermont’s current ratio-study methodology.","actionData","errors"]

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Vermont GIS officials tell Ways & Means parcel data changes needed to support fair, timely reappraisals

Assessment expert says Vermont’s ratio study shows regressive patterns; urges districts, time adjustments and audits