Tax exploration subcommittee briefs council on revaluation findings, recommends neighborhood-code review

Don Morin, chairman of the town’s tax exploration committee, briefed the council on the committee’s analysis of the most recent property revaluation and recommended several next steps, including a targeted review of neighborhood codes and better public education materials explaining the revaluation process.

Why it matters: The committee’s analysis found land values increased more than building values in the latest update, producing average land increases of about 70% versus building increases near 40%; the result contributed to uneven assessment changes across neighborhoods and a higher average tax increase for nonresidents under the town’s tiered residential tax program.

Findings and recommendations Morin summarized the committee’s work: it reviewed Vision Government Solutions’ 2023 statistical update and analyzed transaction and parcel data from the assessor’s office. The committee found the revaluation process largely functioned as intended — statistical correlations of reassessments to sales were strong — but identified anomalies in neighborhood-code assignments (some neighborhood codes cover hundreds of parcels while others contain only one or two) and scattered outliers where similar lot sizes had different assessed land values. The committee recommended: - Asking Vision (the contractor that performed the revaluation) to review and, where appropriate, reallocate or correct neighborhood codes and address outliers. - Standardizing how mobile homes and other special cases are coded, and documenting that approach publicly. - Producing plain-language guidance (a "how-to" field-card guide) for residents to understand the revaluation process and their assessment/field card data. - Exploring targeted tax relief programs and potential new revenue sources (for example, assessing hotel-tax policy options) rather than changing the revaluation methodology.

Committee context and state rules Morin noted that Rhode Island law requires periodic property reevaluation schedules and that Vision’s work followed the Department of Revenue guidance the town’s contractors must follow. He told the council the committee examined RIPEC publications and data on classification and levy caps and considered statewide approaches to rate, levy and assessment caps. The committee reported an average resident tax increase of roughly 3% against an average nonresident increase of about 26.2% given the town’s current tiered residential tax program; the committee provided those differences as context for policy discussion.

Public and council feedback Councilors and staff asked for clarification on how neighborhood codes are assigned and how many codes exist in town; the assessor and staff were already investigating flagged parcels. Councilors suggested the committee and staff work together to provide public-facing materials and to continue exploring options for tax relief targeted to seniors or other vulnerable groups.

Next steps The committee will continue the review and staff will follow up on flagged parcels; the committee indicated it will provide more detailed materials and comparisons of tax-relief programs in other municipalities and states when complete.