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NH DRA flags unpermitted construction and land-use tax liabilities during Colebrook revaluation review
Summary
State Department of Revenue staff told Colebrook selectmen they found multiple properties without building permits during the town revaluation, estimated land-use change taxes due and will send letters to affected owners; DRA staff said they will retain the town laptop while work continues and that their supervisor will retire in mid-April.
Colebrook — State Department of Revenue (DRA) staff told the Colebrook Select Board on Feb. 9 that DRA’s revaluation work identified several properties in town that lack recorded building permits and that the agency has prepared letters estimating land‑use change taxes for affected owners. Phil Bodwell and Vicky Ayer, DRA representatives, said DRA picked up roughly two‑thirds of new construction in the recent revaluation while one local assessor, Tim Northcott, picked up the remaining third.
Why it matters: local tax rolls and property assessments are the basis for town revenue and homeowner bills; discrepancies between town permit records and DRA findings can trigger tax adjustments or tax liability notices for property owners.
DRA provided the board with two spreadsheets listing properties without permits and with estimated land‑use change taxes due; Vicky Ayer told the board it has been about two years since an outside inspection of properties and the spreadsheets reflect work DRA completed during the current revaluation. DRA will send letters to property owners named on the lists and said there is substantial office work to incorporate DRA’s findings into the town’s records.
Town Manager Tim Stevens said he will compare DRA’s list with Planning Board records to confirm whether local building permits exist for the properties DRA flagged and asked that staff ensure approved permits are filed in the Town Office. Selectboard member Sue Collins noted at least one property on the DRA list that she believed already had a permit; DRA acknowledged those kinds of discrepancies can occur when data are compiled from multiple sources.
DRA staff reported other field findings, including multiple campers placed on some properties, and they said they will retain the town laptop until their review is complete. Phil Bodwell told the board he plans to retire in mid‑April and that DRA may not be able to continue on‑site work in Colebrook after his departure without a supervisor to manage field operations.
On whether the town can bill owners retroactively for prior years’ taxes, Bodwell told the board, "no you cannot." He described the option of a cyclical revaluation — having a contractor measure about one‑quarter of properties each year so every property is measured within four years and updated in the fifth year — and said such work usually requires a firm rather than a single assessor because of manpower demands.
What comes next: DRA will mail letters to property owners identified in their spreadsheets; Town Manager Stevens will reconcile the lists with Planning Board permit records and the town office will process the incoming notices. The board did not take an immediate policy vote at the meeting; follow‑up and any formal corrective actions will be handled administratively and through DRA's notices to owners.
