In March, we approved an updated arrangement for our Main Street businesses to have barricades for outdoor dining, updated Medicare rates for our ambulance services to be in compliance with new state legislation, and heard a report on the audit completed for the golf shop. Other councilors had questions on the parks and recreation facility rental procedure, capital reserves, and a report on the City’s six pools and one splash pad.
I had a few questions on the citywide reevaluation project that is underway. Many inhabitants of smaller homes, mobile homes, and apartments in Concord are nervous about the impact that market shifts have had on the appraised values of these types of homes. I, as a renter, raised some questions about this, as the full numbers are not able to be released until later this year, and there is not a recommended way to prepare for the impact to taxes, and by extension, rent. Many thanks to Jon and his team for their hard work in this difficult endeavor.
Recording | Meeting Packet & Minutes
The assessor’s office does not set the tax rate. State law requires cities and towns to follow market values. For more details on what a reevaluation project does, check these videos out:
- This New Zealand example has great visuals.
- Portland, Maine does a good job explaining the rate of increase for the whole city vs. your individual property.
- This local group does a good write-up and mini analysis of their own.
- Bristol, Connecticut does a good job explaining why communities do reevalutions with the 2020s factors that have influenced markets.
- Portsmouth, similar to the above, but a local New Hampshire example.