Burlington is gearing up for a citywide property reappraisal after the Vermont Department of Taxes ordered the city to do so in July 2018.
Homeowners received a letter from City Assessor John Vickery informing them the city has contracted Texas-based Tyler Technologies to visit and assess properties. Tyler appraisers will reach out to homeowners before completing an inspection.
“The City is requesting your cooperation in collecting this necessary data to help ensure that everyone pays only their fair share of property taxes,” Vickery wrote.
According to the Vermont Department of Taxes Policy Director Douglas Farnham, the state will issue reappraisal orders if the common level of appraisal — or CLA — is below 80% of fair market value, per Vermont law. As of this January, Farnham said, Burlington’s rate is 77.65%.
Burlington completed its last reappraisal in 2005.
“We knew it was coming, so we’ve been planning for several years for this reappraisal,” Vickery said.
The letters homeowners received contained individualized reports for what the city assessor’s office currently has on file for building information. The city is asking residents to either mail back the info sheet or fill out an online form if some of the information is incorrect. The online form is new for this year’s reappraisal, which Vickery said will help speed up the process.
Tyler Technologies appraisers will be visiting homes “in the next three to four weeks,” Vickery said, but he does not have a confirmed date for their arrival.
Vickery said all of the appraisers are professionally trained, have undergone background checks and will be wearing bright yellow or orange vests while conducting their inspections. He also said they will have identification cards they will be required to present.
“They’re not going to force their way into anyone’s house,” he said.
Overall, Vickery expects the changes to residents taxes will be “minimal.” Due to a clause in the City Charter, the reappraisal is supposed to be revenue neutral.
“The city doesn’t get a windfall of new tax dollars due to the reappraisal,” Vickery said.
The current amount of taxable property in Burlington is about $3.8 billion, where the city collects just over $33 million in revenue with a municipal tax rate of 88 cents. After the appraisal is complete, Vickery is expecting the grand list total to rise to $4.8 billion but the municipal rate will be lowered to 69 cents. The lower rate means Burlington will collect the same amount of revenue.
Vickery said the changes to residents’ tax bills will “not be uniform” depending on building type and any renovations made. Some people might see a small increase in their bill, others won’t see a change at all, and the rest may be paying less in taxes.
The changes are expected to be shown on July 2021 tax bills.
“We want the taxpayer to be a little bit involved and be aware of what’s going on,” Vickery said. “Our goal is to give folks fair assessments.”
Farnham said towns and cities in Vermont try to assess their property value on 10-year cycles, but that cycle is not mandated by state law. The Department of Taxes issues about a dozen orders every year but “most [municipalities] do it voluntarily.” On average, about 20 municipalities will reappraise every year.
Going forward, Farnham said the state Legislature recently approved tighter standards for when an order is issued. The new standards require an order to be sent if the CLA is below 85% or over 115%. With the new percentages, Franham expects between 15 and 20 orders to be sent per year.
