Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Abatement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Champlain Housing Trust asks Williston board to correct Act 68 tax discounts for two properties
Summary
A Champlain Housing Trust tax representative asked the Williston Board of Abatement to correct prior tax bills for Maple Tree Place and Zephyr Place, saying Act 68 exemptions were misapplied or omitted; town staff disputed whether required VHFA worksheets had been provided and the board closed the hearing for deliberation without issuing a decision.
Champlain Housing Trust asked the Williston Board of Abatement on Thursday to correct prior tax bills for two affordable-housing properties, saying certifications under Vermont’s Act 68 were either applied with the wrong percentage or omitted entirely.
Mr. Kinney, who handles tax matters for Champlain Housing Trust, told the board he provided the Act 68 certifications to the town and asked that Maple Tree Place’s incorrect exemption percentage be fixed and that Zephyr Place be given the Act 68 discount that was left off its bill. “So we’re just asking that the tax bills for the past year be corrected,” he said.
The request touched on how towns calculate assessed value for subsidized housing. Town lister Bill Hinman said he applied an independent reduction — he described a 35% adjustment when determining the property’s assessed value — and told the board Champlain Housing Trust had not provided the VHFA subsidized-housing worksheet the town needs to calculate an income-based assessment. “At no time did CHT ever provide us with that form,” Hinman said.
Mr. Kinney said the two-step process used in other towns is to determine an assessed value using the Vermont Housing Finance Authority’s (VHFA) subsidized-housing worksheet and then apply Act 68’s separate discount percentage. He cited Zephyr Place’s current tax bill, saying the assessed value shown is $5,100,005.01 and that the Act 68 discount for that bill is about 9.86 percent. He also said the property’s initial valuation during the 2023 proceeding had been about $6.7 million.
Board members debated the correct procedure. Several said state law requires using the statutory Act 68 formula applied to the town’s assessed value rather than redoing the assessment in a way that would effectively negate the Act 68 calculation. Others said without the underlying VHFA worksheet or the income-and-expense breakdown it is not possible to independently calculate what the tax should have been and therefore to determine the proper abatement amount.
Chair Andy Michael emphasized the board was treating the matter carefully as a case of first impression for the panel and proposed closing the public hearing so members could deliberate privately. The board closed the hearing to move into a deliberative session; no final decision on the abatement requests was announced on the record. After deliberation the board reconvened briefly and approved a motion to adjourn.
The matter remains pending; the board said it will notify Champlain Housing Trust of any outcome. The record shows the central contested items are (1) whether the town received the VHFA worksheet used to set the assessed value, (2) whether the town’s prior assessment incorporated a separate ad hoc reduction (the 35% cited by Mr. Hinman), and (3) whether the board can grant an abatement now or whether an appeal of the assessment was the required avenue.
What happens next: the board moved into deliberation on the evidence and did not record a final decision during the meeting. The board indicated it will follow up with the trust about its determination.
