Select Board relieves KRT of contract penalty, hears timeline for property data collection

Brentwood Town Select Board members voted to waive the late-penalty provisions in their contract with KRT, the town's contracted revaluation consultant, and received details from KRT about a planned winter data‑collection effort following a software conversion.

The board made the motion to leave the penalty clause unenforced after KRT told officials the firm had completed the database conversion and hearings and was preparing for in‑field data collection this winter. KRT representative Rob Tozier said the conversion from Patriot to the Avatar system and contract timing meant the company could not complete its planned data collection before the statutorily required revaluation filing (MS‑1), and that the data‑collection work would instead follow the reevaluation paperwork.

The action matters because townwide property card data and post‑reevaluation field checks affect individual assessed values and, therefore, property tax bills. Several residents told the board they were concerned about reported inaccuracies on their property cards and about the sequence of the reevaluation and later field checks, saying undervaluation can be harder for homeowners to spot than overvaluation.

What KRT told the board KRT said the use‑map manual will be completed “off the DRA” and is expected within 30 days of the MS‑1 filing, which Tozier said would likely be early November. Tozier said the contract allowing for data collection is already signed (KRT’s contract dates to March 6) but the town’s decision to switch software required a conversion that delayed in‑field work. He told the board KRT has already run quality checks on the converted data — a “flip of all the cards” and a field review — and that the upcoming work will focus on correcting data fields rather than redoing overall grade or condition assessments.

KRT said it mailed hearing notices, held 143 hearings and made changes on 72 parcels as a result. Tozier said much of the original data was collected in 2020 and that while some properties will show substantial changes (finished basements or unpermitted additions), most changes will be data cleanses rather than wholesale revaluations.

Residents’ concerns and staff clarifications Residents asked how the town would catch properties that were undervalued in the 2020 cards and thus not flagged by typical appeals. Tozier acknowledged that people who are undervalued rarely call in, and said the planned field inspections will identify missed permits, additions, decks and other permit‑driven work. He also said the contractor will work from permit lists if the town provides them, but emphasized that assembling a permit list is the town assessor’s responsibility.

KRT invited the town to forward any specific properties it believes were missed; the company said it would correct inaccuracies as part of the winter field work and cleanse the database over six to eight months.

Contract timing and the addendum KRT explained it requested a two‑week addendum to cover final hearing work; Tozier said the project work was completed and the addendum was effectively moot. The board’s motion noted that because KRT had finished the work without the signed extension, the town would not enforce the contract’s late‑penalty clause. The motion passed with the board voting “Aye.”

What comes next KRT said it will coordinate with the town assessor in coming weeks to schedule field work and encouraged the assessor's office to provide permit lists where available. Tozier said the bulk of the field checks will begin this winter and that residents who have outstanding concerns may submit property lists to the assessor or to KRT for prioritized review.

Residents and officials urged clearer public information, including a decoding table for the coding used on tax cards and a public version of the use‑map manual; KRT and town staff said they would work to make the coding documentation available to the public.