Property Tax Bills Out, Also Up in Four of Six Vineyard Towns

By IAN FEIN

Property tax bills are out - and up - in four of the six
Island towns. But property owners in Edgartown and West Tisbury will not
see their new assessments or tax bills for another few months, as town
assessors work to determine values in the wake of previous appeals from
large landowners.

Assessors in the other four towns this week spoke about trends they
noticed in values and tax bills across their communities. They said the
sale prices of interior parcels are now increasing faster than those of
waterfront lots, which soared in value in recent years but have since
slowed or leveled off. Tisbury assistant assessor Patricia Blakesley
said the most recent sales resulted in an increased valuation of
commercial land and condominiums throughout the town.

This year marked the first time that the state required assessors on
the Island to adjust their values during a non-certification year.
Assessors previously could wait three years between making adjustments
to match market sales, but now must submit annual reports to fulfill new
statewide guidelines from the Department of Revenue. The new requirement
should smooth abrupt shifts seen in previous revaluation years, such as
last year on the Vineyard - when total valuation in four Island
towns jumped by more than 25 per cent.

Of the three towns with numbers available, total valuation rose this
year by roughly 10 per cent. Chilmark, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury now each
have total property values between $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion.

While assessments determine the distribution of the tax burden
across town, they do not affect the average tax bill, which is rising in
Vineyard towns and across the commonwealth.

According to data from the Department of Revenue, average tax bills
across Massachusetts have increased every year over the last 10 years
- from $2,270 in 1996 to $3,590 in 2005 - an annual climb of
more than five per cent each year. Although the reason behind the
statewide trend varies among different communities, the main culprit on
the Vineyard is steadily increasing town budgets.

This is also the first year that a surcharge for the Community
Preservation Act (CPA) will appear on property tax bills in Edgartown,
Oak Bluffs, Tisbury and West Tisbury. Adopted by town meeting voters in
those four towns last spring, the CPA will fund community preservation
projects through a three per cent residential property tax surcharge and
matching state funds.

Oak Bluffs principal assessor Dianne Wilson said she has received
numerous calls this month from property owners who did not know about
the CPA tax. Chilmark and Aquinnah voters adopted the CPA in 2001.

Because of the detail involved in calculating the CPA tax -
which exempts the first $100,000 of value - the average property
tax bills listed below do not include the CPA surcharge. However, the
average CPA charge on the Vineyard appears to be roughly $100, varying
from town to town.

The average single-family home in Oak Bluffs this year rose in value
by roughly 11 per cent - from $540,000 to $600,000 - while
the average tax bill is up about five per cent - from $3,290 to
$3,460.

The town of Tisbury this year saw its average single-family home
value rise roughly 16 per cent -  from $680,000 to $790,000
-  while the average corresponding tax bill went up three per
cent - from $3,990 to $4,110.

Among Island towns, however, Tisbury offers its residents the
greatest opportunity for tax relief. It is the only town on the Vineyard
that splits its tax rate between commercial and residential properties,
and is one of only about a dozen cities and towns in the commonwealth
that offers an additional discount - of roughly 20 per cent
- to year-round residents.

Aquinnah had the smallest increase in value this year, with the
average single-family home staying close to $990,000. The average
Aquinnah tax bill went up two per cent from $3,590 to $3,660.

The average single-family home in Chilmark this year rose roughly
nine per cent - from $1.54 million to $1.67 million. The town
retained its top spot with the highest average home value in the
commonwealth. But Chilmark also has the lowest tax rate in the state,
keeping tax bills relatively low. The average single-family tax bill
rose about two per cent this year - from $3,010 to $3,080.

Chilmark is on a different triennial certification schedule than the
other towns on the Vineyard, and was the only one required this year to
do a townwide revaluation. Assistant assessor Pamela Bunker said most of
the changes this year were seen townwide or to interior lots, though the
Seven Gates and Squibnocket neighborhoods saw a substantial increase
because of multiple sales in those areas.

While most towns on Island bill their property owners quarterly,
Chilmark sends its bills on a semi-annual basis. So tax bills for
Chilmark owners went out Nov. 7 and were due Dec. 7. Only a dozen
property owners challenged their assessments prior to the due date.

The bills in Aquinnah, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury are due Feb. 1 -
also the deadline for landowners to challenge their values and file for
abatements in those towns.

Large-scale challenges in Edgartown and West Tisbury are indirectly
responsible for the delay in values from those two towns this year.
Assessors in both towns said this week they are working to set the
values and send out the new bills as soon as possible, but added that
they have no idea when they will be ready. Landowners in those towns
will have 30 days from the mailing of the new bills to challenge their
assessments.

Edgartown assessors planned ahead for the delay, and received
approval from the state to send out a round of preliminary tax bills
this winter while they continue to work on values. The preliminary bills
reflect values from last year, and will be adjusted accordingly once the
new assessments are determined and the next round of bills are sent.

Assessors in West Tisbury, however, did not seek to send out
preliminary bills. The new bills - whenever they come out -
will not be due until May 1 at the earliest.

The lack of cash flow forced West Tisbury selectmen this week to
borrow $1.5 million to keep the town running for the next three months.
The short-term borrowing, authorized by selectmen at their regular
meeting Wednesday, will cost West Tisbury taxpayers roughly $10,000 in
interest.

Town employees noted that landowners could, if they wish, send a
down-payment on their future tax bills to the town tax collector.

West Tisbury principal assessor Jo-Ann Resendes said this week that
one reason for the delay in new values was the extensive time she spent
in Boston over the summer defending a property tax appeal brought by
town resident William W. Graham at the Massachusetts Appellate Tax
Board.

Mr. Graham, who owns 235 acres at Mohu off Lambert's Cove
Road, is challenging his assessments from fiscal years 2003 and 2004,
when he paid the town more than a half-million dollars in property
taxes. Mr. Graham argued during the tax board hearing that the system
West Tisbury assessors use to determine land values and property taxes
is fundamentally flawed.

The pending case grew to become the longest residential property tax
appeal in the history of the state, and garnered wide attention from
town and state officials across the commonwealth. The president of the
Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers said in September that
the case will have a major impact on the assessing profession.

The Graham case brought under intense scrutiny the assessment system
developed and utilized by Vision Appraisal Technology Inc. of Northboro.
Every Island town except for Chilmark used the company for its most
recent revaluation.

After receiving a number of calls from landowners who were concerned
about possible implications of the Graham case, Oak Bluffs selectman
Kerry Scott last summer asked to meet with town assessors to discuss the
Vision Appraisal valuation system. That meeting has not yet occurred.

Vision Appraisal also came under fire in Edgartown - where
assessors last year acknowledged that the company overvalued much of the
waterfront land on Chappaquiddick. After they were flooded with a record
number of requests for property tax relief, assessors granted abatements
to more than 125 Chappaquiddick properties, lowering their collective
value by more than $150 million and returning to the owners more than
$450,000 in collected taxes.

In a sign of contrition to the town, Vision Appraisal last spring
agreed to assist the Edgartown assessors with their revaluation of all
the properties on Chappaquiddick this year at no cost to the town.
Assessors took the company up on its offer, but have said they will not
rehire Vision Appraisal to determine residential values in the future.

When the state Department of Revenue learned of the Chappaquiddick
abatements, it notified the town that it would take the unusual step of
reviewing the land values again this year. A department bureau chief
said in September that to her knowledge no town in the commonwealth had
ever granted so many significant abatements, especially to a particular
area of town.

Edgartown assessors said this week they are still waiting for the
state to conduct its supplemental review.

The new Edgartown values will also be examined closely by many
landowners, especially the two dozen Chappaquiddick property owners who
have filed formal challenges of the previous assessments at the
appellate tax board.

The pending appeals at the state pose significant financial
implications for the town; assessors valued those properties last year
at $116 million.

Although the cases still could be settled, Edgartown assessors in
November took steps to prepare should they go to a hearing. They have
budgeted $50,000 for tax board proceedings next year and sent a letter
to town selectmen stating that Ellen Hutchinson is their attorney.

Ms. Hutchinson also represented the West Tisbury assessors in their
appeal from Mr. Graham. West Tisbury voters this week agreed to pay
$160,000 in legal bills from the case - which has a total
estimated price tag of roughly a quarter-million dollars.

Edgartown assessor Edward Belisle said this week that he and his
fellow assessors are doing what they can to avoid litigation.

"Our job is to settle if we can, as long as it is fair and
equitable to everyone in town," he said. "That is the goal
we're always working toward."