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Vehicle Denied Exemption, Pratt Land Discussed at Board of Assessors

By Kelsey Simonson, Staff Producer
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The Board of Assessors met on Tuesday, September 16th, to discuss tax exemptions and appraisal issues.

After signing minutes, bills payable, and the monthly report, the board first considered a request for a motor vehicle exemption. The applicant has an 80% loss of use of their legs, and requested that their vehicle be exempt from excise taxes because of their disability. The board looked at the laws pertaining to this situation, and first found that the law states that loss or loss of use of both legs or both arms is grounds for exemption. However, they then looked at the Massachusetts State interpretation of the law, which states that the damage must be "permanent" and "complete"; the state interpretation says that 100% loss must be present for an exemption to occur. Therefore, the board denied the request.

Then, the board briefly discussed the Pratt land, only to say that someone had purchased the property and put in a request to continue the chapter.

The board then discussed the ATB cases before them on the agenda. They moved to let an outside appraiser come in, but were unsure of how much work they would permit them to do. They moved, finally, to approve partial work for the outside appraiser, allowing him to appraise the property but not discuss or mediate between the two parties. The board agreed that it was better to permit the appraiser in pieces rather than all at once.

Finally, the board discussed their continued search for a new principal assessor. Mr. Palmer informed the board that they had chosen a final candidate for the position. However, at the time of the meeting, the candidate had not heard from the town manager or from the town's personnel rep, more than two weeks after interviews took place. Mr. Palmer was concerned that the town had too much on their plate to move quickly on the issue, and the board hoped that this was the case and that the town manager had not instead found fault with the candidate.

The Board of Assessors meets next on September 30th.