The Mayor should hold KRT Appraisal Accountable
The time frame to mount a court challenge is quickly closing and no action has been taken by the City. There are some new issues that have come to light that are worth sharing.
The foundation of a good statistical assessment model requires that all sales data be verified for accuracy. One of the first tasks KRT had to complete was to verify this sale data. But, at the August 2019 Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) hearing, residents learned that KRT never did this work. Rob Tozier, Vice President KRT told the BTLA that the City of Nashua verified the data. There is no public documentation that shows this statement to be true.
In digging through some public meeting minutes, Rob Tozier attended the April 19, 2018 Board of Assessors meeting to provide an update on their work. Mr. Tozier stated, “We are verifying and collecting data on sales, driving by the property and reviewing MLS listings. For about 10-30% we will actually knock on the door. We will use Pictometry to verify dimensions and MLS to verify data,..”
Quoting from the June 28, 2018 Board of Assessor Meeting, “Mr. Hansberry asked which data is used if there is a house that has sold and our property card lists different data than MLS. Mr. Rodgers said that if there is a conflict in the data, the data in the MLS listing is used. On the residential side the guys go out to the property and review what is on the property card. They verify what they can see to make sure the value on the property coincides with what they are seeing.”
KRT executives provided the Board of Assessors different information then they gave to the Board of Tax and Land Appeal under oath. Where does the truth lie? Was this model any good?
The City and KRT delivered more confusing statements involving the use of the state calculated ratio used in the abatement process. Why does this matter? Because this affects the refund amount a taxpayer will receive if their abatement is granted.
What did KRT tell the Board of Assessors at their August 16, 2018 meeting? “KRT is showing a 98.9% ratio but Mr. Tozier said when the State of NH Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) does their ratio study they will go back to 10/1/2017 (through 9/30/2018), which may have their equalization ratio come more in the 95% range.”
Attorney Bolton attends the March 21, 2019 Board meetings after the DRA released the calculated 2018 ratio (94.8%) and states, “KRT believes their work should have come in closer to 100… he said he would recommend that the board does not use the State’s number at this time. Attorney Bolton advised the board to go with a ratio of 100%.” Attorney Bolton was considering appealing this in court. Why would KRT tell the Board of Assessor they expected the ratio to be in the 95% range while Attorney Bolton tells the Board it should be 100%?
Attorney Bolton’s comments in the meeting created a heated discussion between him and I which caused him to take offense. He did not like being challenged by the public. The bigger issue here has to do with the equity of the process. Some owners were receiving smaller refunds than they were entitled to because the Assessors were not applying this factor uniformly. It was unsettling to see Attorney Bolton fight to put this refund money in the pocket of the City when it belonged in the pocket of the property owner.
If KRT gave misinformation and didn’t verify sales data, let’s hold them accountable. Instead of blaming the resident, who investigated these assessing issues, for costing Nashua a great deal of money, let's hold the company that was paid $500,000 accountable. The Mayor should use his legal prowess and take action to recover money paid for services not delivered.