Board of Assessment Appeals

Town of Simsbury - BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS
Subject to Vote of Approval - Regular Meeting Minutes: September 15, 2017 – 3 pages

The Friday, September 15, 2017 Regular Meeting of the Board of Assessment Appeals took place in the main meeting room of Town Hall. Those present included board members James Tourtillotte, Steve Nocera and Lori Fernand; the appellants, and the Assessor, David M. Gardner.

The board was in session to perform these agenda items:
            1. Hear the appeals from the MV list of October 1, 2016.
            2. See what action the BAA will take on the appeals it heard.
            3. Approve the minutes of the March 20, 2017 meeting.
            4. Request that the Board of Selectman (BoS) appoint two additional members to serve for the 2017
                assessment year, ending September 30, 2018.
            5. Request that the BoS appoint one to three alternate members of the BAA.
            6. Schedule an organizational meeting to select a chairman and plan the 2018 BAA meeting schedule.

From 12:00 p.m. until 12:34 p.m., board members heard individual appeals for Agenda Item #1.

Mr. Tourtillotte heard the following appeals:
            • Mr. Lawrence Boardman for his 2006 Dodge Ram 3500.
            • Mr. John C. Zehren for his 1999 Toyota Camry Sol.
            • Mr. Todd Diamond for his 2005 Toyota 4Runner and 2006 Toyota Camry Sol.
            • Mr. Kaiyuan Ger for his 2005 Honda Pilot Ex, and 2004 Honda CR-V Ex.
            • Mr. Salvatore Carbone for his 2003 Toyota Camry.

Ms. Fernand heard the following appeals:
            • Ms. Barbara Gumienny for her 2001 Toyota Tacoma and 2007 Lexus ES 350.
            • Mr. Raad Aldouri for his 2007 Chrysler Town & Country.
            • Ms. Hajar R. Aldouri for her 2005 Acura TL, and for Mr. Sirajaldeen Haroon’s,
              1999 Buick Century Sedan.

Mr. Nocera heard the following appeals:
            • Mr. Timothy J. Aker for his 2007 Chevy Express and 2012 Dodge Ram 1500.
            • Mr. Michael J. Vincent for his 2005 Dodge Ram 2500.
            • Mr. Barry J. Schwartz for his 2009 Toyota Rav 4, 1998 Toyota T100 XTR, and
              2006 Honda CR-V SE.
            • Mr. Justin T. Crane for his 2014 Ford F150 SVT.

At 12:48 p.m., after the hearings were completed, Mr. Nocera opened the meeting. He made a motion to go through the rest of the agenda items out of order. Mr. Tourtillotte seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Nocera began with Agenda Item #4. As 2017 is a revaluation year for the town, it will likely cause a high number of appeals for the 2018 BAA meetings. The board agreed that expanding the BAA from three to five members for one year would help them efficiently handle the increase. A short discussion ensued about whether members should be appointed or elected. Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to request that the BoS appoint two additional members to serve for the 2017 assessment year, ending September 30, 2018. All were in favor. The motion passed. For Agenda Item #5, Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to request that the BoS appoint two to three alternate members to the BAA. They felt that alternates would promote continuity and ensure that enough members could be present for a quorum. All were in favor. The motion passed. Agenda Item #6 was discussed next. Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set a BAA organizational meeting for December 8, 2017 at 1:00 p.m., at which a new chairman will be elected, and a schedule of regular meetings will be created for calendar year 2018. Mr. Nocera abstained. There was a quorum, so the motion passed. For Agenda Item #3, Mr. Gardner noted that two date corrections needed to be made to the previous meeting minutes. In the second to last paragraph, instead of reading, “Mr. Nocera made a motion to approve the minutes for September 16, 2017, September 19, 2017, and March 6, 2017,” it should read: “Mr. Nocera made a motion to approve the minutes for September 16, 2016, September 19, 2016, and March 6, 2017.” Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to approve the March 20, 2017 BAA meeting minutes, as amended. All were in favor. The motion passed.

At 1:15 p.m. BAA board members entered earnest and thoughtful deliberations about Agenda Item #2. The following actions were taken on the appeals heard:

Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Boardman for his 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 at $13,318. All were in favor. The motion passed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Zehren for his 1999 Toyota Camry Sol at $1,800. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeals brought by Mr. Diamond for his 2005 Toyota 4Runner at $3,325. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal by Mr. Diamond for his 2006 Toyota Camry Sol at $3,325. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Ger for his 2004 Honda CR-V Ex at $4,250. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Ger for his 2005 Honda Pilot Ex at $5,565. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Tourtillotte made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Carbone for his 2003 Toyota Camry at $2,189. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Ms. Fernand made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Ms. Gumienny for her 2001 Toyota Tacoma at $3,487. All were in favor. The motion passed. Ms. Fernand made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the full retail value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Ms. Gumienny for her rebuilt 2007 Lexus ES 350 at $4,301, or 45% off its full retail value of $7,820. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Ms. Fernand made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the full retail value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Raad Aldouri for his 2007 Chrysler Town & Country at $3,250. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Ms. Fernand made, and Mr. Nocera seconded, a motion to set the full retail value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Ms. Hajar R. Aldouri for her 2005 Acura TL at $5,000. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Nocera made a motion to amend Ms. Gumienny’s 2007 Lexus ES 350; Mr. Aldouri’s 2007 Chrysler Town & Country and Ms. Aldouri’s 2005 Acura TL values to be “assessed” rather than “full retail.” Mr. Tourtillotte seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed.*

Ms. Fernand also heard the appeal by Ms. Aldouri, of Sirajaldeen Haroon’s vehicle, a 1999 Buick Century Sedan. Prior BAA paperwork was not completed for this vehicle, however, the board allowed the appeal. Mr. Gardner produced the Certificate of M.V. Credit for the 2016 Grand List for Mr. Sirajaldeen’s vehicle. Ms. Fernand made, and Mr. Tourtillotte seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Ms. Hajar R. Aldouri for Mr. Haroon Sirajaldeen’s, 1999 Buick Century Sedan at $875. All were in favor. The motion passed.

* Ms. Fernand made a motion to rescind the earlier motion to set the values for Ms. Gumienny’s, Mr. Raad Aldouri’s and Ms. Hajar R. Aldouri’s vehicles (listed in the above motion) at assessed values. Full retail values were preserved. Mr. Tourtillotte seconded the motion. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Aker for his 2007 Chevy Express at $5,373. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Nocera made, and Mr. Tourtillotte seconded, a motion to set the full retail value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Aker for his 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 at $16,000. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, an amended motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Aker for his 2012 Dodge Ram 1500 at $13,720.

Mr. Nocera made, and Mr. Tourtillotte seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Vincent for his 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 at $6,830. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Schwartz for his 2009 Toyota Rav 4 at $6,000. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Schwartz for his 2006 Honda CR-V SE at $5,355. All were in favor. The motion passed. Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Schwartz for his 1998 Toyota T100 XTR at $2,000. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Nocera made, and Ms. Fernand seconded, a motion to set the assessed value on the motor vehicle appeal brought by Mr. Crane for his 2014 Ford F150 SVT at $29,150. All were in favor. The motion passed.

Mr. Nocera made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ms. Fernand seconded the motion. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 1:43 p.m.  

Respectfully submitted,

Lorrie McElligott
Commission Clerk