Notes from the Board of Assessors

October 4, Hybrid Meeting

Present:

• Gary Pitney, Chair
• Tom Stokes
• Doug Goudey
• Michael Blay, Town Assessor

1. Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT committee) no update
2. Berkshire County Assessors meeting and lunch held on September 28 — committee invited
3. In discussing the "CL1 Chapter forms", one from a Mr. Lambert was mentioned. He was asked, that when he listed "open space", was the space open to the public? The answer was "no".
4. The Town LA4s (types of property) and LA13 (certificate of new growth) have been submitted to and approved by Department of Revenue (DOR)
5. That clears the way for the Tax Classification hearing which will take place as part of the regular Select Board meeting on October 14 — Hybrid.
   1. Anyone interested in how much real estate tax they pay may want to attend. The tax rate may be published as soon as the week following the hearing.
   2. The Residential Exemption will be discussed
6. The Appellate Court tax case re: Desisto School property has been postponed until January 12, 2022. Desisto did not provide an appraisal

Meeting adjourned

Editor's note: 1. Per 61A of MA General Law — Cl1 Chapter form is an application for classification as Agricultural or Horticultural. This is a tax code and defines what the tax rate will be 2. Open space is a term often believed to mean pen to the public for public use. It does not necessarily mean that. For Example, the proposed Natural and Historic Resource Protection Zoning (NHRPZ) claims to create open space, but whether it is open to the public for public use is up to owners/developers.

Mackerel sky. Photo: Patrick White.