Villages of Quechee • White River Junction • Hartford • West Hartford • Wilder
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The State of Vermont education statutes require that municipalities maintain a Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) above 80%. This CLA is the measure used to compare town assessments to current market values. It is calculated by dividing the total of the assessments of properties that have sold by the total of the sale prices (over a three year period).
Below is a list of the CLA percentages for the period between 2003 and 2006, after the 1999 townwide reappraisal.
The decreasing CLA percentages reflect the increase in property values during that period of time. Since Act 68 was passed and the State began setting the Homestead and Non-Resident tax rates, if assessments are not increased annually throughout the entire town, the School Tax Rate is adjusted upward to reflect increasing values. This is the reason that tax bills went up during the 2003-2006 period, even though the assessment may have stayed the same.
As noted above, in 2006, the CLA for the Hartford was 62.07%, thus we were required to reappraise all property in town to bring assessments up to approximate market value. This process was completed with the assistance of VISION Appraisal Technology. This company is one of the larger property revaluation firms in New England and their software is currently being used in Hanover and Lebanon, New Hampshire. They utilized sales from 2005-2007 to estimate values for all properties in town. More weight was given to the most recent sales, since some segments of the real estate market weakened during the winter and spring of 2007.
During the process of the reappraisal, we hope that all taxpayers with questions about their new assessments had an opportunity to discuss their concerns either with VISION Appraisal (informal hearings) or with the Listers (grievance/appeal). If not, a taxpayer may call our office to set up an appointment to review any physical errors in the listing of the property. However, value changes can not be made until next April. Specific information regarding assessments in Hartford can be found at the VISION Appraisal Technology website. General information regarding Vermont property taxation (including Homestead forms) is available at the State website. Both of these links are provided below.
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