[Adopted 8-13-1991 by Ch. No. 983 as §§ 13-21
through 13-24 of the 1991 Code (as amended by Ch. No. 1010)]
A.
There shall be a Board of Assessment Review consisting
of three members appointed by the Council for a term of three years,
of which no more than two shall be of the same political party. The
members first appointed shall serve for the term of one, two and three
years, respectively. Each appointed member shall hold office on the
Board until his successor is appointed and qualified. Vacancies on
the Board which may occur in the appointed membership of the Board,
for any reason whatsoever, shall be filled by the Council for the
unexpired term.
B.
The Town Council shall appoint an auxiliary member
to the Board of Assessment Review for a term of two years beginning
August 1, 1992. The auxiliary member shall sit as an active member
of the Board when and if a member of the Board is unable to serve
at any hearing, and shall have the same powers and duties of the absent
member. The Town Council shall fill any unexpired term of an auxiliary
member whose place has become vacant.
The Board of Assessment Review shall hear and
consider appeals from property owners regarding the amount of property
assessment as determined by the Town Assessor; provided, however,
that such appeals are filed within 30 days of the last date appointed
for payment without penalty of such tax, or the first installment
thereof, if such tax be payable in installments; and provided further,
that in case such property owner has not filed an account of all the
ratable personal estate owned or possessed by the same, within the
time prescribed by law, he shall not have the benefit of any appeal
regarding the assessment on his ratable personal estate unless the
tax assessed on such personal estate is illegal in whole or part;
and the appeal shall be limited to a review of the assessment on real
estate or to relief with respect to such illegal tax, as the case
may be. The Board shall have authority to administer oaths and receive
testimony and exhibits. It shall have the power to change any assessment
so appealed and reviewed, but only after the Town Assessor has been
given an opportunity to appear before the Board or otherwise present
his case; provided, however, that this provision shall in no way alter
legal requirements existing on the effective date of this article
relative to Town Council review of abatements. Hearings of the Board
of Assessment Review shall be open to the public. Nothing herein contained
shall be construed in any way to limit or extend the right of a taxpayer
to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for relief from any
assessed valuation or tax originally determined by the Town Assessor
or subsequently by the Board of Assessment Review, in accordance with
the general laws of the state, as amended, or any other law thereto
appertaining and all amendments and additions to any such laws for
relief from assessments as originally made by the Town Assessor.
The procedure to be followed in the filing of
appeals by property owners from assessments as determined by the Town
Assessor is as follows:
A.
All appeals to the Board of Assessment Review shall
be on petitions provided by such Board.
B.
All questions on the petitions must be answered fully.
C.
A separate petition shall be filed by an owner or
owners for each parcel of property for which a review is requested
or an appeal taken as provided herein.
D.
The landowners of record must file all petitions or
if this is not possible, his mark or the signature of his legal representative
must appear, and his title must be affixed thereto.
E.
Petitioners will be notified of the date, time, and
place of the hearing.
F.
The landowner of record, or his representative, must
appear at such hearing. If persons other than the owner of record
are to appear, then a written authorization filed by the landowner
of record must be presented and recorded with the Board.
G.
Failure on the part of any petitioner or his legal
representative to appear at the time and place designated by the Board
for a petition to be heard, without prior notification being given
to the Board of Assessment Review, will be recorded as a default by
nonappearance. Any petition for which a default is so recorded will
not be reheard for a period of one fiscal year. No petition may be
resubmitted for any year for which a prior petition was recorded as
a default due to the nonappearance of the petitioner or his legal
representative.
H.
At any and all hearings, the petitioner may be represented
by his attorney, and any petitioner may present expert witnesses or
any other witnesses who may testify at the hearing before the Board.
I.
All testimony given before the Board shall be under
oath and shall be tape recorded.
J.
The proceedings of the Board of Assessment Review
shall be recorded and kept in a minutes book provided by the Board.
The minutes book shall not be removed from the office of the Board
of Assessment Review, Town Assessor's office, Town Hall, without first
approval of the Board.
K.
All decisions of the Board of Assessment Review shall
be made in writing and filed in the office of the Town Clerk. Notice
shall be given in writing to the owner, Town Assessor and Town Finance
Director.
L.
All petitioners shall be notified in writing of the
decision of the Board and the amount of assessment of their property
by the Board.
M.
All petitions shall be numbered and heard with reference
to the Town Assessor's plat and lot numbers.
N.
All petitions will be acknowledged by the Board of
Assessment Review by mail.
The members of the Board of Assessment Review
shall be selected upon the basis of their knowledge of the subject
of property taxation and real estate values and shall at the time
of their appointment have been residents of the Town for at least
five years immediately preceding and shall continue as residents during
their terms of office. If a member of the Board shall cease to be
a resident, his office shall become vacant. No member of the Board
shall hold any other public office except that of notary public, member
of the national guard, naval or military reserve. A majority of the
members of the Board shall constitute a quorum. The members of the
Board at their first meeting shall elect one of their members as Chairman
and thereafter shall elect a Chairman upon the appointment of any
new member for a full term or whenever the office may become vacant.
