The Board shall consist of five members, one member to
be appointed for one year, two members to be appointed for two years and two
members to be appointed for three years. Thereafter, all appointments shall
be for three-year terms.
The Board of Assessment Review shall be responsible for
arbitration of taxpayer appeals and the authority to abate assessments based
on the evidence of the appeal hearing.
The Chairman shall make such rulings as may be required
during a hearing, unless any members object, in which case the ruling shall
be determined by majority vote.
The Chairman shall swear all witnesses, using the following
oath or affirmation: “Do you solemnly swear (affirm) that the testimony
you are about to give in the matter now in hearing shall be the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God (under the pains and
penalties of perjury).”
The Chairman shall maintain order at all hearings and
may exclude any person or persons from the hearing room who are disorderly
and interfere with the orderly conduct of the hearing.
When a taxpayer requests a hearing, he (she) shall be
notified of the date, time and place for that hearing in writing and he (she)
will also be given adequate preliminary information and time to ensure effective
preparation of his (her) case. At a minimum he (she) will be given the following
information, which will govern all hearings. All hearings shall:
Be conducted informally, but under oath, without technical
rules of evidence, but subject to requirements of due process. All evidence
having reasonable probative value shall be admissible but all immaterial,
irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence shall be excluded.
To view the property in issue, provided both parties
(the taxpayer and the Assessor, together with legal counsel) shall have the
right to be present and evidence or testimony shall not be offered at the
time of review. Both parties may nevertheless call to the attention of the
Board those things which they wish the Board to observe, without further comment
during the review. The review may precede or follow the hearing itself as
the Board shall determine.
Be permanently recorded, having a written decision (See below, § 4-6, Disposition of hearing decision.) filed with evidence introduced at the hearing. The hearing will allow the taxpayer to establish all pertinent facts and circumstances, and to advance any arguments without undue interference. Nonrecord information that either party does not have an opportunity to hear or see is not used in the hearing decision or made part of the hearing record. The hearing authority shall not review any material prior to the hearing, unless the same material is made available to both parties and their legal counsel, if any.
The decision of the Board of Assessment Review shall be binding
on the Tax Assessor and shall be communicated in writing to the taxpayer and
to the Tax Assessor, Tax Collector and Town Treasurer within 10 days after
completion of the hearing. Written notice of the decision shall contain the
following:
The taxpayer shall be furnished with a copy of the notice of
decision, the hearing record and a copy of the tax or assessment record maintained
by the Tax Assessor, if requested.
The written notice of decision shall state that the taxpayer
and the Town, if either is dissatisfied with the decision, shall have the
right to judicial review under the provisions of Maine Revised Statutes Annotated.
To take advantage of this right, the taxpayer or the Town must file a petition
for review in the Superior Court within 30 days from the receipt of notice
of the hearing decision. The procedure or appeal shall be as set forth in
Rule 80B of the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure.
If any portion of this chapter shall be declared invalid, it shall not
affect any other portion of this chapter.
This chapter may be amended at any Annual or Special Town Meeting.