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Hollis voters approve $265,000 from surplus to fund townwide property revaluation
Summary
At a special town meeting Aug. 5 called during the Select Board session, voters approved up to $265,000 from unassigned fund balance to hire a contractor for a townwide property revaluation; supporters said the work is required to restore the town’s assessment ratio and recover state reimbursements.
The special town meeting on Aug. 5 approved an appropriation of up to $265,000 from the town’s unassigned fund balance to conduct a townwide revaluation of real property and authorize the Select Board to contract for the work. The moderator read the warrant article as written, and the article passed by show of hands after roughly an hour of public comment.
Supporters, including several Select Board members, told residents the revaluation is necessary to bring Hollis into compliance with state assessment rules after the town’s assessment ratio lagged far behind the statutory standard. “Our last full reevaluation was 25 years ago,” said a Select Board member during the meeting. “State law calls for one every 10 years. We are more than 2.5 cycles behind.” The board said the town has been losing state reimbursements and credits while out of compliance, and that the $265,000 would be taken from surplus rather than collected as a new tax.
Opponents and many residents at the meeting asked whether the project had been put out for competitive bid and whether interim measures could reduce losses while the larger revaluation proceeds. Paul DeChambeau, a resident, asked whether some of the work could be done for a smaller interim cost to avoid additional annual losses. Board members replied that some mapping and maintenance work is already underway and that the firm O'Donnell & Associates is continuing mapping and assessment maintenance work that can be incorporated into a full revaluation.
The Select Board and the town’s finance committee offered an estimate of annual losses the town faces if it remains out of compliance; one participant said tree-growth reimbursements alone represent about $40,000 per year. Board and finance members estimated the revaluation could pay for itself within roughly four years through restored reimbursements and county/state adjustments. After discussion, the moderator read Article 2 again and declared, "the yeas have it; you have passed the article."
