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Date: 3/1/2023
PALMER – An informational meeting with the town assessor and Lake Thompson residents took place to discuss the inflated tax assessment of nearly double last year, but questions remain for those who have been impacted.
Palmer resident and Vice President of the Lake Thompson Civic Association (LTCA) Ed Santini said the Feb. 15 meeting was well attended with about 50 people including the town assessor, Town Manager Ryan McNutt and other town officials, but the room was mostly filled with Lake Thompson residents.
Prior to the informational meeting, Santini told Reminder Publishing that last year, two houses on Lake Thompson were sold to people from out of town during the “hyper real estate market.” He noted that one house was sold for over $500,000 and the other, $400,000. Before those homes were purchased, Santini said the property assessment for each lot appraised around the lake was around $70,000. When the two homes were added, he said the average value assessed brought them close to $170,000 – more than double of what it was.
Principal Assessor Keri-Ann Wenzel added that some of the houses around the lake sold for more than $200,000 over the asking price, forcing the surrounding home values to increase.
“This comes out to almost $400,000 a year,” said Santini. “The taxes went up 70 percent.”
According to Santini, other lakeside homes went up even more, whereas the lots in association across the lake were hardly impacted. Santini said, “Mainly 60 houses around the lake are suffering from this.” With the other lots on the lake, Santini said he has seen a lot of inconsistencies with the building value. “Three lots on the lake didn’t get upgraded [or assessed],” he shared.
He was able to obtain this information from the Assessor’s Office which is also posted online.
Santini and other LTCA members have been active in sending out letters to McNutt, state Rep. Todd Smola, state Sen. Jake Oliveira and others, in hopes of receiving answers. This led to the town hosting the Feb. 15 meeting.
The meeting began with a presentation from the assessor on how the tax assessments were done. Wenzel said, “We explained the process of how assessments are determined and how the tax bills are calculated.”
Santini said there was a lot of finger pointing, ultimately blaming the state for following “fair market value.”
He went on to say that the meeting wasn’t run properly, as there was no moderator and it quickly turned into a “noise fest.”
“It didn’t amount to much… [It] was kind of a shame,” Santini said.
The next steps for the LTCA are to meet with the Board of Assessors and hope that with their help, they can move up to the state level, he shared.
“We [have got to] keep moving forward,” Santini added.
He said the assessor shared that she has been coming around and looking at people’s properties but is only looking at the buildings – not the land. “The land is what hit everyone,” he said.
Santini recognized the town for “making a gesture” on what they can do at their level, however, he believes it is important to find someone responsible that he and other concerned residents can argue to.
“Nobody wants to be the bad or good guy in this,” said Santini.
“[The meeting was a] little bit of disappointment. [The] lack of organization – whether it’s our fault or their fault – didn’t lead to a productive outcome.”
McNutt said, “I think the meeting with Lake Thompson residents was important. The tax assessment process can be confusing and aside from listening to residents we wanted to provide an opportunity to explain how the assessment process works and the limitations crafted into the law.”
Wenzel shared, “I think the meeting on Feb. 15 went well. During the meeting we were able to listen to the concerns of the residents around Lake Thompson.”
She continued, “The Assessor’s Office is in the process of inspecting properties and reviewing the abatement applications.”