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Plaistow Board of Selectmen discuss replacement assessing services after longtime contractor gives notice
Summary
Town Manager Greg Colby told the Plaistow Board of Selectmen that Corcoran Consulting Associates gave 30 days' notice that it will end assessing services; staff issued an RFP and received one proposal. The board plans to decide at its next meeting in about two weeks; the contract would start March 1 if approved.
Town Manager Greg Colby told the Plaistow Board of Selectmen on Feb. 10 that Corcoran Consulting Associates, the town’s longtime contract assessors, gave 30 days’ notice on Jan. 13, 2025, that they would stop providing assessing services; their last day of availability was listed as Feb. 11, 2025. Colby told selectmen the town immediately issued a request for proposals and received one proposal from a firm based in Haverhill, Massachusetts, while several larger firms declined because they were at capacity.
The matter matters because the town’s assessments are substantially below market value: “We are in the 70 to 72% range,” Colby said, compared with the typical recommended ratio of 95 to 105 percent. That gap, he said, and an upcoming full revaluation scheduled for 2026 have prompted staff to ask bidders for three services in the RFP: day-to-day office assessing support, a statistical update in 2025, and a full revaluation in 2026.
Colby described the RFP timeline and responses: the RFP used a January 30, 2025 due date; one large firm told the town it was too busy; other potential vendors were unable to respond because Corcoran’s notices to its clients left many communities scrambling. The proposal the board received includes pricing for daily office coverage (answering questions and handling routine permit-related assessing work), a statistical update, and a full revaluation. Colby said the contract would begin March 1 and run for nearly three years on a calendar-year basis.
On cost, Colby told the board the town had been trying to set money aside for a revaluation: he said a statistical update had been discussed at roughly $102,000; the transcript reference to the full revaluation cost was unclear. Colby said the day-to-day services could likely be absorbed within the current budget if the board chose to accept that portion of the proposal without the optional updates.
Selectmen asked procedural questions about timing; Colby said he planned to contact the proposing firm this week and expected the board to act at its next meeting in roughly two weeks. No formal vote was taken on Feb. 10.
Next steps: staff will follow up with the bidder, and the board will consider the proposal at its next meeting, with the town manager recommending whether to accept day-to-day services and whether to add the statistical update or full revaluation.
