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Director Kumar reports solar exemption, abatement activity and $13.77 tax rate to finance committee
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Summary
At the March 10 Finance Committee, Director Kumar said the assessor’s office has no active ATB cases, reported state form approvals and a new tax rate of $13.77, and said the board adopted a 20‑year residential solar exemption; departmental filings, abatements and uploads were detailed.
Director Kumar, the assessor, told the Gardner City Finance Committee on March 10 that the Assessor’s Office currently has no Appellate Tax Board cases and outlined recent state filings and internal work to update public records.
Kumar said state forms LA‑4 (qualified sales) and LA‑13 (new growth) were approved Sept. 4, 2025, the classification hearing on Oct. 20 recommended a single residential factor, the recap sheet was approved Nov. 5, 2025, and the new tax rate was set at $13.77. "So, yay," Kumar added when summarizing the favorable outcome.
Kumar gave a detailed accounting of abatement and exemption activity. He said the board received nine real estate abatement applications (four approved, one denied and four under review) and that the assessor’s board recently voted to adopt a 20‑year residential solar exemption; Kumar said, "We made the motion. We approved it." He also reported mailed corrected bills to solar pilot accounts totaling $6,088.34.
On routine administration, Kumar said fiscal‑year 2026 assessed values and property record cards were uploaded to the assessor web page, building permits (about 547 since July 1) are entered into the property records to show recent work, and ownership updates (310 new deeds since July 1) have helped reduce returned mail. He described mailing and return rates for several statutorily required forms and said the office has processed numerous excise tax abatements and real estate exemptions year‑to‑date.
Kumar also reported the office is tracking potential supplemental bills (about 13 at present) for properties with significant new construction or value increases and cautioned that number could change as certificates of occupancy are issued.
On staff safety, Kumar recounted a recent incident in which a customer directed abusive, profane language at staff and said she told the person to leave. Committee members and other staff urged documenting such incidents and testing or installing discreet alert systems (panic buttons or Bluetooth lights) and agreed police involvement should be an option when safety concerns escalate.
The committee had no objections to receiving further detail at a future meeting; several members requested follow‑up on filing compliance rates and anticipated supplemental bill counts before finalizing any downstream budgetary actions.
