December 4, 2009

To fellow Montpelier citizens,

Two years ago, in 2007 following the rejection of an attempted city-wide “reappraisal” of city property, the Montpelier Reappraisal Committee was appointed by the City Council to oversee the process of soliciting and reviewing proposals, hiring a qualified contractor and the implementation of inspection and assessment of each piece of property within the City of Montpelier. Since that time, the committee has participated in the selection of both a new Assessor and a Property Reappraisal company for the city. The reappraisal process has been underway since the spring of 2009. As the project nears completion, the committee would like to provide our fellow city residents some information on the current status of the effort now at the end of 2009, and what to expect from here in 2010.

As of mid-November over 2,000 individual residential properties have been visited, externally photographed, and measured. This represents approximately 80% of the residential properties in the City. New England Municipal Consultants, Inc., (NEMC) the company hired to do the assessment, is on track to complete the remaining 500 pieces of residential property by early in the calendar year 2010. After the turn of the new year, the company will also turn its attention to the inspection of the city’s commercial and industrial property.

The inspection and reappraisal process calls for an inspection of both the exterior and the interior of each residence to assure that records in the City Assessor’s Office will accurately reflect each piece of property going forward. As of mid-November, NEMC has inspected the interiors of 56 percent of the properties visited, or approximately 1,120
of the 2,000 homes visited thus far. In January, letters will be sent to the property owners whose interiors HAVE NOT been inspected urging them to call NEMC staff through the Assessor’s office to schedule an appointment for an inspection. The inspection is each property owner’s opportunity to assure that their property is fairly assessed in comparison all of the other properties in the City.

In the interests of accuracy, fairness, and equity for all, it is the goal of the Montpelier Reappraisal Committee to have every single piece of property within the city inspected and valued by the same set of inspectors (NEMC). We urge all property owners to fully participate in this process so that the best possible results can be achieved.
If you have questions about the inspection or reappraisal process, please contact the Montpelier Assessor’s Office at 223-9504. You may also feel free to contact any one of us as well. Thank you for your patience with and participation in this process,

Sincerely

Karl Johnson Nick Marro
Vicki Lane Timothy O’Meara
Jack Lindley