NORWICH — After receiving a “concerning phone call from a property owner,” the town’s Board of Listers has requested a “police presence” at upcoming public hearings for residents who want to contest the new appraised value of their properties.

On May 30, the three-member board mailed out its “Preliminary Property Valuation Booklet,” notifying the town’s roughly 1,700 property owners of proposed changes in their properties’ values.

In a recent email to Town Manager Brennan Duffy, longtime lister Cheryl Lindberg asked for police to be on hand at the informal hearings scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Monday. Lindberg’s email was part of an information packet released in advance of Wednesday’s Selectboard meeting.

“My interpretation of the phone call is that it just wasn’t appropriate,” Lindberg said in a phone interview Monday. Lindberg categorized the call to the listers office — which she answered — as “harsh,” but declined to elaborate on what was said.

In addition to the call, a few residents have come to the listers’ Tracy Hall office in tears over the proposed increases in their properties’ new assessed values. “The immediate emotions are about being able to stay in town and pay the taxes,” Lindberg said. “...This is an emotional matter for many people.”

While the booklet states the old and new values of properties, it does not provide data on how much the average property went up or the total value of the grand list because the numbers have not been finalized yet. 

Lindberg, who was a lister during the last two town-wide reappraisals in 2013 and 2016, said she does not recall police officers attending past hearings. “It’s just important to try to have a calming presence,” Lindberg said.

The informal hearings are some of the final steps in the long-delayed reappraisal process.

The town contracted with Massachusetts-based KRT Appraisal to complete a reappraisal in 2024. However, last May when “it became clear that the reappraisal work wasn’t as far along as it needed to be,” for tax bills to be mailed out in July, an announcement on the town’s website said, and the two parties amended the contract to delay the reappraisal for one year.

Last month, listers requested an extension to file the grand list abstract, the document of new assessments which property owners have a chance to challenge during grievance hearings, and the final grand list because KRT did not meet the deadlines agreed upon in their contract, Lindberg said.

The 28-page booklet that includes current and proposed assessed values of all properties in town was scheduled to be sent on May 16, according to the May 28 Selectboard meeting packet. But due to some missing information, including valuations of homes in the Starlake Lane development, booklets weren’t mailed until May 30.

“The timeline was adjusted in a mutual decision between the Norwich Board of Listers & KRT Appraisal,” wrote Kevin Leen, a KRT project manager, in an email when asked if KRT missed contractual deadlines.

On Monday morning, the Valley News requested a copy of the contract between KRT and the town but Duffy’s office had not provided the information as of Tuesday afternoon.

KRT will not face penalties for missing contractual deadlines, Lindberg said.

Duffy expressed his concerns with the extension in the May 28 meeting packet.

“In the Listers’ currently proposed timeline, the Grand List is not even being filed with the Town Clerk until July 28th. This date will not allow appropriate time for the subsequent required steps of; 1) calculating the tax rate, 2) the Selectboard holding a Special Meeting to adopt/set the proposed rate, 3) the process of printing approximately 1,700 tax bills and cover letters, processing them, and then postmark/mailing them,” he wrote.

During the meeting, Lindberg acknowledged that filing the grand list on July 28 is not ideal, but necessary to ensure accuracy.

“It’s not what we wanted,” she said. “We do not wish to destroy the confidence (residents) have in us by rushing this through.”

Marcia Calloway was the only Selectboard member to vote against granting the listers an extension.

“Put all your shoulders to the wheel and get that done faster,” she said. “Everything is being held up and I don’t think it’s fair to blame other people. It’s all hands on deck.”

Under the proposed timeline, the informal hearings are followed by more behind the scenes work by listers and KRT until the abstract grand list is filed on June 24.

Formal grievance hearings are scheduled from July 8 to 18 with hopes of completing the final grand list by July 28.

The Selectboard is then expected to hold a special meeting to to set the municipal tax rate and the first installment of property taxes are due 30 days after residents receive a notice in the mail. At Town Meeting in March, voters set Aug. 29 as the target due date for the first installment of property taxes.

“The goal of a reappraisal is to bring everybody up to market value,” Lindberg said. “A lot of high-end properties have been underpaying their fair share of taxes. We don’t need tension and negativity right now, we need to come together and work as a team for Norwich property owners.”

Emma Roth-Wells can be reached at erothwells@vnews.com or 603-727-3242.