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Kennebunk assessing staff defends mass appraisal model as Board enforces filing rules
Summary
At the April 15 meeting the Assessor's office explained mass appraisal assumptions — including a two-acre base lot size and in-person inspections — as the Board denied a late submission and reminded applicants that documentary filings must be made at least 10 days before hearings.
Assessing Director Dan Robinson and counsel for the Assessor explained the town's mass appraisal process to the Board of Assessment Review at its April 15 meeting and emphasized procedural filing rules after an applicant tried to submit documents at the hearing.
Robinson told the Board the mass appraisal model uses a base lot size of two acres and that lot-size variations under that baseline do not necessarily change valuations. The Assessor's office also said it conducted an in-person inspection of the subject property and identified comparables (7 McKenney Lane and 2 Wallace Street) that support the current valuation of $1,363,100 for 7 McKenney Lane.
Counsel for the Assessor objected to accepting documentary evidence presented at the hearing because the Board's Rules of Procedure require submissions at least ten days in advance to allow review. The Board sustained the objection and later approved a motion to continue the hearing to allow the applicant to supplement the record in compliance with the filing deadline.
Board members reiterated that online estimates such as Zillow are not treated by the Board as credible appraisals in abatement proceedings; the Board emphasized the burden of proof rests with applicants to show an assessment is "manifestly wrong."
