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Assessors' association asks for cautious, collaborative approach on assessment districts and appeals
Summary
Linda Sherman, president of the Vermont Assessors and Listers Association, and VELA members told the Ways & Means Committee they want to be included in working groups on assessment-district proposals, raised workforce concerns and urged training for appeal boards.
Linda Sherman, president of the Vermont Assessors and Listers Association (VELA) and an assessor for Dover, Weston and Somerset, told the House Ways & Means Committee she and her membership support careful, inclusive planning as the state considers changes to assessment districts, valuation dates and appeals processes.
“It's already has proven to be a very interesting and, position,” Sherman said, introducing herself and describing her background in municipal assessment work. She urged the committee to form a working group on districting and to include VELA and local stakeholders in decision-making.
Why it matters: Sherman and other local assessors said proposed structural changes could affect the jobs of municipal listers and assessors, alter how appeals are handled and change workloads for small towns that lack full-time staff.
Sherman described a range of local realities: Dover has about 4,000 parcels, she said, while Somerset has about 13. She recounted how some towns have dissolved elected lister boards and moved to appointed assessors to ensure continuity. Sherman also raised concerns about the Board of Civil Authority as the local appeals forum, saying the composition—selectboard members, town clerks, justices of the peace—can make equitable, technical appraisal appeals difficult without mandated training.
VELA members and their education coordinator, Vy Bernstein, told the committee the organization represents roughly 70–80 municipalities. Committee members supplying data in the hearing said roughly 110 towns have appointed assessors and 45–49 assessors contract to serve multiple towns, a dynamic that complicates workforce planning.
Other topics Sherman raised included a possible shift in the valuation date (from an April 1 valuation date to an earlier January 1 date, as discussed by some participants) to give assessors and contractors more time to work with property owners, and caution about moving too quickly on changes that would disrupt local jobs and processes.
Committee members from both parties pressed for more specifics and asked Sherman and VELA representatives to continue participating in working groups to craft implementation details. Sherman said VELA supports a measured approach and recommended mandated or strongly encouraged training for appeal-board members if the Board of Civil Authority remains the appeals venue.
Ending: VELA asked to be part of the state’s working groups on assessments and urged the Legislature to proceed cautiously so that changes do not inadvertently leave municipal offices short‑staffed or taxpayers without clear appeal paths.
