Assessor

NOTICE OF UPCOMING CITY-WIDE REAPPRAISAL

Dear Montpelier Property Owner:

This notice is to inform you that the City will be starting the process of a city-wide reappraisal of all real property soon. State law mandates that a reappraisal be conducted when the CLA (Common Level of Appraisal) falls below 85%. With property values continuing to rise, Montpelier’s CLA fell to 84.44% in the State’s 2020 Annual Equalization Study and will fall further in December 2021 when the 2021 Equalization Study is completed.
Anticipating this, the City issued an RFP in February 2020 and awarded a contract for the project in October 2020. The selected firm is New England Municipal Consultants of Lyndon Center, VT, the same firm that did the last city-wide reappraisal in 2010. The process will be completed for the 2023 Grand List.

The first step in this project requires representatives of New England Municipal Consultants (NEMC) to visit each property in the city to gather data. The inspection process will start in late summer/early fall of 2021 and continue through the spring of 2023.
NEMC will mail notices to property owners in advance of conducting inspections.

All NEMC representatives will carry identification and a letter of introduction from the City.

NEMC’s representatives need to take exterior measurements and collect information on exterior and interior construction, features and condition, and take exterior photographs
.
On their first visit they will measure the exterior of your property and take photographs. If you are not available at that time, they will leave a notice of the visit with instructions for scheduling an appointment for the interior inspection. Interior inspections will be done only with you or your authorized agent present. Owners who rent their property are requested to notify the renter(s)/tenant(s) of the inspection procedure and grant the renter/tenant authority to allow NEMC to inspect the interior of the property.

The goal of any reappraisal is to develop fair and equitable property appraisals. Allowing interior inspections is crucial in developing accurate values, so please allow your property to be fully inspected.
Please understand that a reappraisal does not always result in an increase in taxes. Since most property values will increase, the tax rates necessary to fund the City and School budgets will decrease. For many, taxes will not increase any more than they typically do each year without a reappraisal. Residential property owners who receive a State Payment will continue to pay property taxes based on their household income, not their assessed value, as in the past.

Please feel free to call the City Assessor’s Office with any questions or concerns. Your cooperation with this important project is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Stephen Twombly, City Assessor




Services


  • Appraisal and assessment of all real estate and business personal property.
  • Maintenance of property information records, sales information, and tax maps.
  • Providing information to other departments, outside agencies, and the general public.

Records Available for Review


  • Copies of recent Grand Lists
  • Property record files
  • Tax maps
  • Transfer and ownership information

Miscellaneous


  • Copies of assessor produced records are available.
  • Copies of records are available in the following formats:
    • Grand List available electronically
    • Paper copies of all records
Copies of documents officially lodged with the City Clerk, such as deeds, plats, and Official Grand List, should be obtained from the City Clerk's Office. Copies of proprietary materials should be obtained from the owner.