===PAGE 1=== LUNENBURG BOARD OF ASSESSORS MONDAY , JANUARY 8, 2024 EAGLE HOUSE SENIOR COMMUNITY CENTER 25 MEMORIAL DRIVE, LUNENBURG Present Members: Vice Chair Sarah Cammer, Chair Brian Laffond, Clerk John Rabbitt, Interim Principal Assessor Rena Swezey. CALL TO ORDER The meeting opened at 6:40 PM. OPENING COMMENTS Board Comment Sarah Cammer states that her term on the board ends in May and intends to finish serving. If any resident is looking to partake, please apply. Public Comment No public comment. STATUS REPORT FROM INTERIM PRINCIPAL ASSESSOR Currently, Rena Swezey is the only employee working in the office. Julie Belliveau is looking to get someone to come in on a temporary basis to provide help. Since the last meeting Rena Swezey and Brian Laffond met with CAI and Mike Tarello. Rena Swezey states that new neighborhood maps should be coming soon. Mike Tarello has made changes and reviewed 127 sales from 2022 and 2023. The results show the average sale price in town is $460,000 coming in with a Coefficient of Dispersion (CoD) of 7.82%. Mike Tarello requests all the listing for apartment complexes in town. Nate Cramer is looking for a site index map and has requested the information from CAI. There are 3 employees from Vision currently working in the field. Sarah Cammer inquiries where the printout for complex number 2 is. Additionally, there are questions about condo codes and what some codes are on the site index mean. Sarah Cammer will send an email to Rena Swezey with her questions. John Rabbitt is requesting the monthly emails from the Banker and Trades report that identifies all sales in a specific month. Rena Swezey confirms that she has only received 1 report and will inquire with Sheila Craigen if she has been receiving them. John Rabbitt has a question regarding a statement received in relation to the ATB. The Board confirms this is only to be discussed in executive session. CURRENT BUSINESS a. Approval of Minutes: December 18, 2023 ===PAGE 2=== Edits were submitted by the Board and Brian Laffond will update the minutes with the alterations. There was a motion to approve the amended minutes by Sarah Cammer, seconded by John Rabbitt. All in favor. Rena Swezey provided a draft of the executive session minutes that the Board needs to review. John Rabbitt states the minutes from December 4th and December 11th aren’t listed on the website. Brian Laffond with speak to Kathy Herrick about getting those minutes posted. b. Review and Approve Invoices, Expense V ouchers, Payroll, Billing Errors, etc. Aside from the above referenced documents there were 3 invoices from MFS to be approved and signed. c. Review and Approve Exemptions (Chapter Land, Senior, Veterans) This agenda item is postponed to the executive session meeting on January 29, 2024. d. Status of Community Outreach  Senior Center (Jack Rabbitt) The meeting at the Senior Center is tentatively scheduled for early March. John Rabbitt has been in contact with Becky Boucher regarding exemption information.  Website Improvements (Jack Rabbitt) Brian Laffond suggested to John Rabbitt that the rollout of the website is not expected to include every piece of materials on the day its launched. John Rabbitt wants the information on the website prior to the presentation in March. John Rabbitt provided a site map of improvement that they will add to the Assessors page on the town website. Additional information to be added to the webpage include the Boards core values, conflict of interest and ethics statement. • “How to Read Your Vision Card” (Sarah Cammer) Sarah Cammer has created a drafted chart specifically for a single-family residence. This draft only includes sample data and should just be used for format and content purposes. The draft uses percentage scales but for town purposes it will be changed to price per square foot. Sarah Cammer proposes a question to the Board about the section labeled neighborhoods. It’s confirmed that neighborhoods are already built into the site values but the Board will confirm with Mike Tarello. ===PAGE 3=== Sarah Cammer will send an email to Rena Swezey relating to the 5 different sets of codes used for land curves. o Use of Responses to “extensive citizens questions” as FAQs There hasn’t been much progress but there is a brief discussion about creating an ad-hoc citizen committee to assist and summarize questions submitted by residents. NEW BUSINESS a. Discuss BOA Position for FY 2025 Budget – Staffing, Education, Other. The Board agrees that when hiring takes place there should be a request for continuing education/certification and funds be made available to attend conferences. There was a motion to accept the proposed recommendations by Sarah Cammer, seconded by John Rabbitt. Brian Laffond will discuss further with the Town Manager. b. Discuss Implications of Proposing Exemptions Increases to FY 2025 John Rabbitt spoke with Becky Boucher from the Department of Revenue regarding the option of 41C versus 41C ½ in relation to exemptions. Rena Swezey states a 41C ½ has a no asset limit clause. This discussion will continue at the next meeting. c. Establish Ad-Hoc Citizen Committee(s) to Aid Board Members There was an agreement that some projects could include summarizing questions to be submitted to the website to create a frequently asked questions section. Sarah Cammer will look into other Boards/Committees in town to get additional information. Brian Laffond will check with the Planning Board and Open Space Committee. d. Other Goals for Calendar Year 2024 An important goal for 2024 is to create a calendar that includes important dates and deadlines. FUTURE TOPICS • Schedule Future Zoom Session for Public Q&A with Nate Cramer The Board anticipates having Nate Cramer attend a meeting in early February. This will be a public meeting where residents can get answers to their questions. UPCOMING MEETING/EVENTS SCHEDULED  January 22, 2024- Executive session closed to the public.  January 29, 2024- Note: Town Hall- Bilotta Room  February 5, 2024 CLOSING COMMENTS ===PAGE 4=== No public or Board comments. ADJOURN Motion to adjourn meeting by Sarah Cammer, seconded by John Rabbitt. All in favor. The meeting closed at 9:09 PM.