Dec

19

CNHT eBlast 12/19/2006

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Gary Rayno Lays An Eggo

The much anticipated “explanation” of the View Tax will have to wait a while because NH Sunday News reporter, Gary Rayno, who sat like a lump through the Assessing Standards Board Meeting in Concord Wednesday regurgitated the Boards line about there being no View Tax.

What a shame.

He did not add to his story the juicy stuff like this tax is the creation of an assessing board that formerly consisted of up to 75% assessors.

One of which WAS Gary Roberge, head of AVITAR Assessing.

The View Tax software of AVITAR the state’s largest assessing firm who’s software has had other “glitches” such as assessing small lots of land at five times their real value. Or that Avitar doesn’t quite follow the Assessing Standards Board’s own rules if they don’t feel like it.

Or how about the way the View Tax is adopted as law?

Is the View tax an act of the Legislature - NO.

Did town legislative bodies create it - NO.

Selectmen, Town Councilors, Aldermen - NO.

It came from a BUREAUCRACY.

The View Tax is the creation of :

CHAPTER 21-J
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE ADMINISTRATION
General Provisions
Section 21-J:1
21-J:1 Establishment; General Functions. –
I. There is established the department of revenue administration, an agency of the state, under the executive direction of a commissioner of revenue administration.
II. The department of revenue administration, through its officials, shall be responsible for the following general functions:
(a) Overseeing the collection of state taxes, assigned by specific tax law.
(b) Providing information collected through tax administration activities to the governor and general court for public policy decisions. This information shall not include material which identifies, or permits identification of, particular taxpayers.
(c) Establishing a uniform system of financial reports and accounting for the state’s political subdivisions.

Source. 1985, 204:1. 1987, 109:3, eff. July 5, 1987; 408:3, eff. May 26, 1987.

THIS is why the ASB is so hot to trot about NOT having people think they created a new tax WHEN THEY in fact DID!

Administrative Rule Chapter 600 is the “LAW” that supplies the structure for assessors to follow while assessing property in NH. It can be found on the CNHT Web site in the Blue Field. Scroll down to REV after you click on Rule 600 and you will go to the dept. of Rev. site. Then just scroll down to 600.

Taxpayers in NH have to start being aware of what is going on in their community because there is an effort by income taxers in the Legislature and the news media to quietly move to pass any broad based tax they can get.

The property tax is not going away with any broad-based tax.

The same people who pulled this stunt will be glad to administer an income or sales tax as well. Get it?

We need to control spending and out of control assessors who police themselves.

Ed Naile, CNHT

Mar

31

CNHT eBlast 03/31/2006

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March 31, 2006 Avitar Associates of New England, Inc. A Municipal Services Company

Betsy Patten, Chair Assessing Standards Board
c/o NH Dept of Revenue Admin
P.O. Box 457 Concord, NH 03302

Attn: Dawn Calley
Re: Resignation

Dear Betsy:

I am writing as I have officially submitted my resignation to Tom Holmes, President of the NHAAO, as they are the parties responsible for my nomination.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working as a member of the ASB until recently. It appears the original focus of the Board is lost. Previously, the Board ran like a well-oiled machine, yet lately that is not the case. I believe this is due to the recent amount of media attention focused on assessing issues, ie: “The View Tax”. The ASB is now merely a public/DRA/political forum.

I was astounded at the last meeting, when DRA members, not on the ASB were the driving force behind the decision-making. On several occasions, you specifically asked Scott Dickman whether something should remain or not. There was not enough Board discussion or voting. I believe I am not alone in the concerns I have mentioned.

My prior two terms were excellent and knowing and working with you was a pleasure. I believe an ASB meeting is not the proper forum for taxpayers to bring their specific abatement or appeals to. Taxpayers should be urged to follow the established processes in place, ie: abatement, appeal to BTLA or Superior Court. By lending an ear to taxpayer specific concerns, you have essentially changed the original intent of the Board, while only hearing one tainted side. “

I have not notified the Governor or Governor’s Council, as I did not have their support anyway.

Betsy, it has been a pleasure knowing and working with you, but our current push to adopt USPAP and the forum in which we are doing it is uncomfortable for me, particularly where it is directed at assessing companies.

Sincerely,
Gary J. Roberge, Sr. Appr., CNHA CEO
GJR/sjc

150 Suncook Valley Hwy • Chichester, NH 03258 • (603) 798-4419

Our Northern Office: P.O. Box 307, Milan, NH 03588 (603) 449-2400

Good riddance Mr. Roberge. Don’t let the door…well you know the rest.

Since Gary Roberge, once the all powerful creator of assessing laws, is so fond of “letting it all hang out” about how the Assessing Standards Board has changed its purpose, maybe he can take some time to explain why his Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal software (well oiled machine) has so many flaws in it.

Here is my guess:

The DRA is desperate for some uniform software that can be used to asses all the property in NH. Gary Roberge seemed to be their savior when he came up with his Avitar system. The problem is that it has so many flaws it is unworkable without a constant effort to “re-engineer” it. That “re-engineering” comes at the expense of any town that was dependent on (and paid for) the Avitar system of mass reappraisal.

From sitting through Board of Tax and Land Appeals hearings and watching the way Roberge gets to walk away from bad assessments it occurred to me that he was receiving special treatment.

Then came the political heat from the “View Tax” and Gary is no longer beyond criticism. I remember writing an article not long ago hoping Gov. Lynch would reappoint Roberge to the Assessing Standards Board so Lynch could be tagged with the “View Tax.” Hmmmm.

I hope the efforts of The Coalition of NH Taxpayers in connecting the various selectmen and taxpayers all over this state effected by poor assessing helped bring about this change because if it did it was well worth it, and just a start.

Ed Naile, CNHT