Board of Assessors, January 31, 2023

The town published minutes (text) and an agenda for this meeting. Those minutes are the record; what follows is a guide to the recording.

legalpersonnelpolicypublic comment

Present: Rina Sweezy (consulting former principal assessor, Groton (helping with abatements)); CJ Carroll (principal assessor); Christine Higdon (member, board of assessors); Kevin fish (member, board of assessors); Rich (board of assessors member, by speakerphone, remote); Heather (staff, addressed about minutes). Names are the caption model’s hearing and may be wrong.

Votes

1. ▶ 34:51Approve use of the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board three-year average worksheetpassed 3-0

And 1 procedural: adjourn (▶ 1:12:31).

Against the town’s minutes

The town published minutes (text) for this meeting; ours were compared item by item. 4 agree, 2 caption errors resolved by the official reading, 2 substantive differences. The town’s minutes are a summary.

1. differsBoard position on the assessments

   recording The board will not make an official statement of position on the assessments. A member gave a personal view that the system has flaws.

   town’s minutes “rich letarte stated he does feel the assessments were done in accordance with the rules and regulations of the department of revenue.”

   Our record has a member saying the system has flaws; the official has Rich saying assessments were done properly. Check who said what at about t=1948.

2. differsMotor vehicle abatements: signed vs reviewed; real estate exemptions executive session▶ 36:58

   recording Real estate exemptions are confidential and will be taken up in executive session at a future meeting. Motor vehicle excise abatements were signed at this meeting.

   town’s minutes “the boa reviewed motor vehicle abatement applications.”

   Ours says the motor vehicle excise abatements were signed (acted on); the official says only that they were reviewed. Check whether the abatements were approved or signed at this meeting. The executive session plan for real estate exemptions is only in ours.

Compared 2026-10-14. Neither record is treated as the referee: a caption error is the same fact heard badly; a difference is for a person to check at the timestamp.

The money

1. ▶ 16:01Abatement application volume

   The count of filed abatement applications rose over a few days, and the board expects hundreds to handle within the statutory window.

   as heard:27535090 days

2. ▶ 40:20Lake property land value increase

   A resident called a blanket increase on all lake properties a red flag.

   as heard:135 percent

3. ▶ 50:54Sales used in waterfront valuation

   A resident questioned the sales used to build the valuation, including one home that may be a two-family.

   as heard:1.4 million dollarsnine properties

4. ▶ 42:09Outsourced versus in-house assessing

   A former selectman said assessing was outsourced for many years until it was brought in-house, and asked that the decision be reversed.

   as heard:26 years1994 to 2020

Settled without a vote

• ▶ 5:00The principal assessor and a member said the board would make liberal use of its ability to extend the 90-day abatement deadlines.
• ▶ 19:08Board members said they would accept additional information on an abatement until it is decided, if the application is filed by the deadline and notes that more is coming.
• ▶ 20:11Request that the right to appear at hearings be formalized at a future meeting. No commitment was made at this meeting.
• ▶ 32:28The board will not make an official statement of position on the assessments. A member gave a personal view that the system has flaws.
• ▶ 36:58Real estate exemptions are confidential and will be taken up in executive session at a future meeting. Motor vehicle excise abatements were signed at this meeting.
• ▶ 50:12The board meets monthly, and residents were told to bring questions back to later meetings.

Public comment

1. ▶ 5:22Corrected social media claims: the meeting was properly posted, scheduled in line with past practice, and is only about adopting the worksheet. He asked the board to allow placeholders on abatement applications. — Lou Franco, as heard, select board member, speaking for himself
2. ▶ 11:30Asked who will do the inspections and whether they will be certified. He asked that abatement filers get a hearing before the board. — Tim Murphy, as heard, resident, 97 Island Road
3. ▶ 15:39Asked how many abatement forms were filed and whether all fit in the 90 days. — John Fortune, as heard, resident, 50 Hemlock Drive
4. ▶ 16:42Asked whether assessors would visit homes to confirm public record data is correct. — Carol Hatch, as heard, resident, 41 Hilltop Lane
5. ▶ 18:05Asked how to get data withheld pending the investigation. He asked that hearings be formalized later and confirmed the assessed value reflects January 1, 2022. — Carl luck, as heard, resident, 50 Sunset Lane
6. ▶ 21:41Asked whether an abatement inspection means reassessment next year, given the revaluation schedule. — Dawn Of Fortune, as heard, resident, 50 Hemlock Drive
7. ▶ 23:03Asked how abatement forms will be ordered for review. — Mary Perkins, as heard, resident, 62 Ruth Street
8. ▶ 23:51Asked for the board of assessors' official position on the assessments and on a reassessment. — Tom Alonso, as heard, vice chair, board of Selectmen, 284 Lancaster Avenue
9. ▶ 37:58Said it may be premature for the board to state confidence or no confidence before abatement applications are reviewed. — Lou Franco, as heard
10. ▶ 39:01Called the blanket increase on lake properties a red flag. He questioned whether land was viewed before assessment and asked about site index codes. — Carl luck, as heard
11. ▶ 41:27Asked the town to reverse in-house assessing and go back to outsourcing it. — Phyllis luck, as heard, resident, 50 Sunset Lane, former selectman
12. ▶ 45:00Asked who decides abatements and how inspections differ from appraisals. — Deb yower, as heard, resident, 226 Sunset Lane
13. ▶ 46:44Said lake land varies in frontage, depth and quality. He urged assessors to create categories to evaluate it. — John rabbit, as heard, resident
14. ▶ 49:08Asked whether non-lakefront sales that also sold high would be looked at. — Carol Hatch, as heard
15. ▶ 50:33Questioned the sales used in the waterfront valuation, including a two-family home and sales not on the published list. — Bill Hudson, as heard, resident, 90 Hemlock Drive
16. ▶ 53:25Pointed out the abatement form's wording on fair cash value as of January 1st, and urged the board to consider a no-confidence position. He cited independent appraisals well below the town's. — Tom Mason, as heard, resident, 32 Hemlock Drive
17. ▶ 55:12Argued the certification standards leave room for interpretation of the data. — Alex shower, as heard, resident, 226 Sunset Lane
18. ▶ 56:37Asked whether lakefront values affect the rest of the town. He asked that information on senior exemptions and deferrals be shared publicly. — Gino Leone, as heard, resident, 52 Pearl Street

Where the time went

Minutes of recording by subject, from the topic spans below. A topic with two subjects counts toward both.

• public comment55 min · 75%
• legal28 min · 38%
• tax rate9 min · 13%
• policy4 min · 5%

The whole meeting, in order

1. ▶ 0:00Call to order, introductions and meeting formatinformational · 4:20 long
2. ▶ 4:20Board apology for communication on waterfront assessmentsinformational · 1:02 long · policy
3. ▶ 5:22Public comment on assessments, abatement process and the board's positioninformational · 28:07 long · public comment, legal
4. ▶ 33:29Vote on the three-year average worksheetvoted, passed 3-0 · 2:46 long · policy
5. ▶ 36:15Further public comment on lake assessments, inspections and exemptionsinformational · 26:58 long · public comment
6. ▶ 1:03:13Signing motor vehicle excise abatementssigned · 9:18 long · tax rate
7. ▶ 1:12:31Adjournmentmotion made and seconded, result not audible · 0:49 long

What the captions could not carry

• Result of the adjournment vote at the end.
• Names of several speakers were not stated or were mangled by the captions.
• Who made and seconded the worksheet motion is unclear; the captions suggest Kevin fish.
• Stretch from about 4000 to 4350 seconds is mostly garbled or crosstalk during signing.
• The meeting date is rendered as 'January 31st to 2 42'.

Written 2026-10-14 by scripts/write_recording_minutes.py (sonnet) from sources/data/youtube-transcripts/board-of-assessors/2023-01-31-fECORowQCt8.json — 1,582 caption segments, sha256 a94add8b10a0…. All recorded meetings.