Fall River City assessors approve reassessments, exemptions and multiple tax abatements

The Fall River City Board of Assessors voted unanimously to approve a set of reassessed real estate tax entries, reconsider 25 statutory exemptions and to grant multiple tax abatements after an executive session on assessment and tax appeal matters.

The actions, taken during a regularly scheduled assessors meeting, included approval of reassessed taxes for identified parcels “pursuant to Mass. General Laws chapter 59, sections 77 and 78” and a referenced Land Court judgment; reconsideration of statutory exemptions; and approval of abatements tied to Appellate Tax Board (ATB) cases. The board went into executive session to discuss abatements and exemptions under chapter 30A and chapter 59, citing that public discussion would be detrimental to the city's legal position.

Assessor Nancy Haino moved to approve reassessed real estate tax entries for parcels listed in the meeting record as L1172, L11701 and L11309, citing Mass. General Laws chapter 59, sections 77 and 78 and a Land Court judgment; the motion was seconded and passed on a 3-0 roll call. The board recorded similar unanimous votes on a sequence of abatements and ATB-related approvals. The board also voted to approve the reconsideration of 25 statutory exemptions identified in the record as numbers 11 and 12; that motion passed 3-0.

During the public portions of the meeting the board discussed and approved routine agenda items including minutes, an invoice/proof list and the monthly report. At 10:09 a.m. the board voted 3-0 to go into executive session “to discuss abatements and exemptions pursuant to GLC 30 A section 21 A-7 and GLC 59 section 60” and to review ATB matters pursuant to GLC 30 A section 21 A-3, with reconvening scheduled after the closed session; the record shows the board returned to open session at 10:21 a.m.

After the executive session the board recorded a series of motions and unanimous roll-call votes (3-0) approving individual ATB and abatement actions as read aloud in the meeting. Motions and approvals recorded in the meeting transcript include a fiscal 25 ATB case number 50; a set of fiscal 24 ATB cases listed as 102, 58, 85, 96, 74, 75 and 73 (noting the board clarified it was approving abatements pursuant to those cases rather than “approving the cases” themselves); fiscal 23 ATB case 139; and an enumerated list of fiscal 25 abatements read into the record (transcript lists identifiers in shorthand, e.g., ’21, ’607, ’608, ’509, ’704, ’13, ’15 and 14). Each recorded motion passed on a 3-0 vote.

All formal roll-call votes recorded in the transcript were unanimous with the three sitting assessors voting yes. The meeting record shows the board completed the remaining administrative business, set the next meeting for June 18 and adjourned the assessors meeting at roughly 10:46 a.m.

The actions affect individual property taxpayers whose parcels or appeals were the subject of the motions and will change entries on the city’s tax roll; the transcript does not specify dollar amounts for the abatements or the reassessed tax totals. The meeting record also does not include written orders or the Land Court judgment text; those documents would provide the legal and financial specifics of the reassessments and abatements.