[Adopted 11-14-1977 by (Ch. V, Sec. 1, of Title Six of the 1965 Code)]
[Amended 5-27-1975; 4-5-1993 by Ord. No. 93-20; 5-4-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-6]
Any person owning property subject to assessment within the Town of Barrington who desires to appeal the assessment imposed by the Tax Assessor pursuant to § 13-2-2 of the Council-Manager Charter, as amended, must file an appeal, in writing, with the Tax Assessor within the time limits prescribed by Title 44, Chapter 5, Section 26 of the Rhode Island General Laws.
All appeals to the Board of Assessment Review shall be made on the form provided by such Board, and each and every question on such form shall be answered completely. A separate appeal form shall be filed for each separate lot or parcel of land and for all items of tangible personal property as a group. Such petition shall be executed by the owner of record and, in the case of owners who are other than natural persons, shall be executed by a person having due authority.
A. 
The Board shall give reasonable notice to any person filing an appeal of the date and time of the hearing. The applicant shall advise the Board in advance whether they intend to appear alone or whether they will appear with counsel, and shall further provide the Board with a list of any witnesses they intend to call in connection with their appeal. Such advice shall be filed with the Board not less than 48 hours prior to the date of the hearing. The Board shall permit the appellant to appear by counsel and to introduce such testimony and other evidence as shall be relevant to the proceedings.
B. 
All testimony given before the Board shall be under oath, and a summary record shall be kept thereof. All such hearings shall be open to the public and the press. The Board shall cause to be posted an agenda with respect to any meetings to be held by it not less than 24 hours prior to the time for commencement of such meeting.
C. 
The Board shall render a written decision on each such appeal within a reasonable time after the close of the hearing thereon. All such decisions shall be sent to the appellant at the address listed in their petition.
Any appellant who shall fail to appear at their scheduled hearing without giving the Board prior notice thereof will be recorded as a default for nonappearance, and such appeal shall be dismissed with prejudice, unless the appellant can demonstrate to the Board that their failure to appear was a result of an honest mistake or through no fault on their part.
Any appellant may petition the Board for a rehearing on the basis of evidence which could not have been presented to the Board at the time of the original hearing. Such petition shall include a summary of the evidence and the reason why it could not have been previously presented. The Board shall, at its next regularly scheduled meeting after the filing of such petition for rehearing, determine whether a rehearing shall be granted and shall notify the appellant of its findings and recommendations with respect thereto.