It is obvious that education is a hot topic in most of our communities. Many school boards worked hard to deliver a level funded or lower budget than last year. Staff reductions were made and programs were cut; and still tax rates went up. Voters are angry and frustrated. How can we have a system that penalizes communities that are doing all the right things to contain costs with a higher tax rate?
The culprit is the Common Level of Appraisal or the CLA.
The CLA is the part of Act 60 and Act 68 that is designed to make sure that all taxpayers and communities are treated in an equitable manner. It is the means by which the school tax on a $210,000 home is the same no matter which community the home is located, as long as the school spending is the same. I believe that it is the CLA that disconnects voters from their school budgets, not income sensitivity. It is the CLA that is causing tax rates to rise, when school spending is dropping.
I have been talking with the Finance Committee for several years about working to find a solution to the problems with the CLA formula. So far no one has come up with a solution. It is my understanding that there are some issues with “freezing” the CLA where it was last year, but I find it hard to believe that it could be more of a problem than we have now increasing it!
I am going to ask the Finance committee once again to see if we can at least get a short-term fix for this problem. I do have a longer term fix.
When Act 68 passed, I worked with Representative Richard Marron from Stowe to put a new system of property evaluation in place. Rep. Marron was then the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and he did a great deal of work with the state of Maryland to understand their system.
They have a 3-year rolling, on-going statewide appraisal system. One year it is primary residences, the next year business property and the third year all other property. This system keeps property up to date and I believe it would serve to get rid of the complex CLA formula. I still believe that this is a good idea and I’m trying to get folks to consider it again.
My plan for Vermont envisions hiring professional appraisers to work for the state tax department, performing the ongoing work in each county. We would keep our local listers doing the work that they currently do. With professional appraisers, I believe there would be more consistency in the property evaluations eliminating the need for the CLA.
This system would save money for the towns, which constantly have to reappraise. There would still be an appeal process for taxpayers who felt they had an unfair evaluation.
I believe that this system will keep evaluations up to date in every part of the state, is easy to understand and meets the requirements of treating taxpayers in a fair and equitable manner. It may even reduce property taxes.
It sure would be better than watching property taxes increase while school boards cut services.
The culprit is the Common Level of Appraisal or the CLA.
The CLA is the part of Act 60 and Act 68 that is designed to make sure that all taxpayers and communities are treated in an equitable manner. It is the means by which the school tax on a $210,000 home is the same no matter which community the home is located, as long as the school spending is the same. I believe that it is the CLA that disconnects voters from their school budgets, not income sensitivity. It is the CLA that is causing tax rates to rise, when school spending is dropping.
I have been talking with the Finance Committee for several years about working to find a solution to the problems with the CLA formula. So far no one has come up with a solution. It is my understanding that there are some issues with “freezing” the CLA where it was last year, but I find it hard to believe that it could be more of a problem than we have now increasing it!
I am going to ask the Finance committee once again to see if we can at least get a short-term fix for this problem. I do have a longer term fix.
When Act 68 passed, I worked with Representative Richard Marron from Stowe to put a new system of property evaluation in place. Rep. Marron was then the Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, and he did a great deal of work with the state of Maryland to understand their system.
They have a 3-year rolling, on-going statewide appraisal system. One year it is primary residences, the next year business property and the third year all other property. This system keeps property up to date and I believe it would serve to get rid of the complex CLA formula. I still believe that this is a good idea and I’m trying to get folks to consider it again.
My plan for Vermont envisions hiring professional appraisers to work for the state tax department, performing the ongoing work in each county. We would keep our local listers doing the work that they currently do. With professional appraisers, I believe there would be more consistency in the property evaluations eliminating the need for the CLA.
This system would save money for the towns, which constantly have to reappraise. There would still be an appeal process for taxpayers who felt they had an unfair evaluation.
I believe that this system will keep evaluations up to date in every part of the state, is easy to understand and meets the requirements of treating taxpayers in a fair and equitable manner. It may even reduce property taxes.
It sure would be better than watching property taxes increase while school boards cut services.
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