After receiving a third letter from the state about the town’s Common Level of Appraisal and its plans to reassess all property in the town and update its Grand List, the board will redouble its efforts to find a contractor to undertake the work.
The select board, at its March 10 meeting, discussed the letter from Jill Remick which stated, in part:
“According to our records, the town of Waitsfield last performed a town-wide reappraisal in 2006 and has no pending reappraisal plan on file. As per 32 V.S.A. § 4041a, effective January 1, 2025, Vermont municipalities are required to reappraise every six years to remain in compliance regardless of equalization study results. Failure to comply with a reappraisal order will result in the State withholding funds outlined in subsection (c) of 32 V.S.A. § 4041a.
The purpose of this document is to inform you that under this statute the town of Waitsfield will be one of the first towns identified as out of compliance and will soon receive an official order to reappraise based on the six-year cycle. In addition, if your Coefficient of Dispersion (COD) is above 20%, you will be receiving an order to reappraise based on COD. With this in mind, we urge you to take action.”
Remick is the director of property valuation and review division for the state of Vermont.
Board member Fred Messer reminded the board that this item has been on the agenda for the town listers who have sought a contractor to undertake the work but have been getting responses that a reappraisal will be four or five years out. This situation is not unique to Waitsfield. Many local towns and many Valley towns are or have been on waiting lists due to shortages of reappraisal companies and a backlog of towns needing to be appraised.
This issue is exacerbated by rapid rising property values due to higher-priced home sales during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board discussed “showing good faith” to the state by reaching out again with a request for proposals for a town-wide reappraisal and providing that feedback to the state. During their discussion board members noted that the act of moving forward, getting bids, setting aside funds for a reappraisal, getting on a wait list, and signing a contract for future work may be enough to satisfy the state.
The board also discussed the fact that it has sent letters to all the recommended appraisal firms and noted that short-term, the best bet is to write back to Remick letting her know where the town is in the process.
Indeed, that is what Remick’s letter also suggests, having the select board discuss it, issue RFPs for reappraisals, find a reappraiser and sign a contract, then share that information with the state.
The town has $125,551 in its reappraisal fund and will adding another $10,000 next year.
Having a current reappraisal will bring a town’s Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) close to 100% (often slightly over) which allows for more accurate calculation of state education tax rates.
Waitsfield’s last reappraisal was in 2006, well prior to COVID and the rapid increase in property values locally and in The Valley. In 2024 Waitsfield’s CLA was 79.93%. In 2025 the CLA was 66.85%. The projected CLA for 2026 (which is used for this year’s education tax calculations) would have been 57.31% before the state added percentages to every Vermont town’s CLA, leaving Waitsfield with an state-adjusted CLA of 79.20.
By way of comparison, Moretown’s CLA is 2024 was 74.56% before the town reappraised. That led to a CLA of 110.57% for 2025 and after the state adjustment for 2026, Moretown’s CLA is 143.38. As a general rule, the higher the CLA, the lower the education tax rate.
Lower tax rates don’t automatically ensure significant drops in education taxes, but often do result in lower taxes.
