2018-02-05 BOS-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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Selectmen—February 5, 2018 Page 1 of 9 Selectmen's Meeting February 5, 2018 A meeting of the Lexington Board of Selectmen was called to order at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, February 5, 2018 in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Office Building. Ms. Barry, Chair; Mr. Kelley; Mr. Pato; Ms. Ciccolo; and Mr. Lucente were present as well as Mr. Valente, Town Manager; and Ms. Siebert, Recording Secretary. Public Comment Joelle Gunther, 35 Woodcliffe Road, asked what the Town's response will be to inaccuracies on a number of Woodcliffe Road 2018 property tax assessments. She believes most people affected are unaware of the reason their tax bills have increased. The abatement deadline (February 1) has now gone by and Ms. Gunther asks the Town to notify affected homeowners and to generate amended bills. Mr. Valente acknowledged there had been an error affecting seven property assessments on Woodcliffe Road. It was a staff coding error, isolated to teardown properties of a certain date. Assessment staff has notified all affected Woodcliffe Road homeowners, directing them to file an abatement. Recalculation of the valuation is at this point not possible as towns have no legal authority to change home values but bills; abatement is the way the issue can be remedied. If the Town did not hear back from the Woodcliffe Road homeowners, a second notice was sent. Mr. Valente does not know how many responses were received but he will report back with that information. He further noted that property tax bills, by law, have the abatement application deadline printed on them. Ms. Ciccolo asked if there are potentially other properties affected by this error. Mr. Valente said he is not aware of others. Mr. Lucente asked that the Town look into other valuations to ascertain if the error was isolated. Mr. Kelley said he had been contacted by residents of Slocum Road who suspect something similar has happened with their valuations. He asked that the Town look into these properties as well. Mr. Kelley noted that this 3rd quarter bill is the first to reflect the most recent valuations. Mr. Valente said he will look into the question of whether 4th quarter bills can be abated if homeowners missed the 3rd quarter deadline. Mr. Pato noted that home sales, and associated valuations, have risen significantly. Mr. Valente agreed but added that there are also wide variations in sale prices, depending on house style. Selectmen Concerns and Liaison Reports Ms. Barry reported that two or three World War I commemorative plaques on the Battle Green have gone missing. The Monuments and Memorials Committee would like permission to coordinate with Public Works staff to replace the plaques in advance of the next November's 100th anniversary ceremony commemorating the end of World War I.