After DRA review, Hollis Select Board authorizes assessing assistant to sign exemption/credit forms

The Select Board on March 9 authorized a town assessing designee to sign municipal tax-credit and exemption forms and discussed corrective actions following a Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) assessment review.

Scott Marsh of Municipal Resources, the town’s contracted assessing consultant, summarized the DRA’s 2023 review and said auditors flagged issues including retention of trust documents and inadequate 'current use' maps. "Some of the maps that were put in at the time those applications were [filed] now have decided aren't adequate," Marsh said, adding that the DRA appears to be enforcing more-detailed map standards than in prior cycles. He said Connie has already begun outreach and is providing maps and forms to property owners to minimize the burden on taxpayers.

The board discussed whether the DRA’s requests are legally required or merely recommended. One member asked that the town attorney review the corrective-action steps to ensure staff are not taking unnecessary work or creating undue burden for residents. "I don't wanna do anything that is going to be a negative impact on our residents unless I have to," a board member said.

Later in the meeting, the board approved a motion to "authorize Connie Kane, in capacity assistant to the assessor, to sign the following documents on behalf of the Town of Hollis and the Select Board: specifically, form PA‑29 (permanent application for property tax credits/exemptions — municipal authorization) and form PA‑35 (assessing official's response)," a motion the chair called carried after a voice vote.

The board also discussed a separate set of abatement filings that the presenter said appear to challenge school-tax constitutionality; staff and the consultant recommended referring the constitutional-claim filings to town counsel rather than resolving them through the abatement process.