Ever since school tax bills came out in September, the town’s current tax equalization rate has been a subject of discussion, so much so Town Board members urged Town Assessor David Galarneau to hold an informational meeting for town residents. That took place on Wednesday evening, November 29.
At 8.56%, Grafton’s equalization rate is the lowest in the county, and makes it appear at least, residents of the Town are paying the highest school taxes. In simple terms, the equalization rate shows at what percentage of full value property is actually assessed. In Grafton, a home with a full market value of $100,000, has an assessed value of $8,560. This means properties in the Berlin School District have a tax rate of $189.14, compared to the other four towns, where rates run from $63 to $16 per thousand. In real dollars however, Grafton property owners would pay the same amount of school tax if their property values were assessed at full market value, as the actual rate per thousand would drop accordingly. The biggest benefit of the full value assessment, as stated by Assessor Galarneau, is transparency.
There have been suggestions the town move to full value assessment. This can be done by the assessor by simply changing the values, or by a complete reassessment. Grafton properties, as a whole, have not been reassessed in more than 30 years and according to Mr. Galarneau, without the reassessment, the discrepancies that currently exist would only be exacerbated by using this method. Those in attendance at the informational meeting Wednesday seemed to favor a reassessment.
Galarneau admitted that when he was hired by the previous Town Board, that was his stated job. He indicated he found a number of problems that prevented that from happening right away, including what he claims was a drawer full of more than 100 completed building permits never updated on the tax roles. In 2015, the assessor did a re-evaluation of land values in the town, not including any buildings on these lands, that resulted in assessments going up on more than 900 of the town’s 1,852 parcels. That, in turn, generated a large number of grievances, and a rather extensive lawsuit. Something Galarneau says further prevented work on a reassessment.
Fast forward to Wednesday night, where Mr. Galarneau says if it is the wish of the current Town Board and the residents, he can begin the steps to complete the reassessment in 2018 and have the new values ready for review by property owners in early 2019. Both Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum and Board Member Lisa Dooley, who were in attendance, agreed they thought he should proceed, as did the majority of the attendees. Mr. Galarneau also indicated he would attend the December 11 Town Board meeting, to provide further updates.