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State study could trigger townwide reassessment
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Wood-fired goodness comes to Finney Crossing
Selectboard votes to appeal BY JASON STARR Observer staff
The Williston Selectboard voted Tuesday to appeal the results of the town’s property valuation review completed in December by the Vermont Department of Taxes to stave off the specter of a townwide property value reassessment. The study resulted in the town’s common level of appraisal — the ratio between the market value of property and the value it is assessed at for property taxes — of just under 85 percent. State law requires towns to reassess all commercial, residential and industrial property when the common level of appraisal falls below 85 percent. Real estate prices have surged in the past 20 months, Williston Assessor Bill Hinman said. He estimated in July that home prices in Williston had increased 30 percent since early 2020. A reappraisal would even up the assessed value and market value of all real estate in town, increase the total taxable value of property and potentially shift the tax burden between residential and commercial property. It would affect the tax liability of nearly every property owner in town. The last townwide reappraisal occurred in 2016. Even if Williston wins its appeal this year, it would likely be up for reappraisal the following year, Hinman said. The town would like to at least delay “putting the town through the aggravation of a reappraisal,” he said. “It does create some contention among property owners because nobody likes to see their assessments increase, because the first thought they think of is ‘tax increase,’ so that makes things difficult on our property owners in town,” said Hinman. “And it’s very expensive — upwards of $400,000 to do a reappraisal, and that’s paid by the taxpayers.” Reappraisals are being triggered in the majority of municipalities throughout the state due to housing demand. “We do not have the housing stock to satisfy demand (from) both in-state and out-of-state buyers,” said Director of Property and Review for the Department of Taxes Jill Remick in a Jan. 6 presentation to lawmakers, adding that many municipal grand lists see REASSESSMENT page 24
Folino’s General Manager Bobby Seaman bakes a pie in the restaurant’s wood-fired oven Tuesday. Folino’s opened its third location last month at Finney Crossing. See story, page 4. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Mask mandate extended into February BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Williston’s indoor mask mandate withstood testimony Tuesday from an industrial hygienist as the selectboard voted unanimously to extend the rule through at least Feb. 20. Local mask opponent Darryl Blackburn invited Stephen Petty to video-conference into the board’s meeting, presenting him as an expert on mask ineffectiveness. Petty described himself as an environmental health expert with a background in clearing workplaces of contaminants. He said masks have essentially no effect in blocking virus particles and recommended instead using fresh air ventilation and air purifying technology. Petty offered graphs showing how Covid cases are increasing even as mask mandates are enacted. If masks worked, he said, one would expect cases to decrease. He said studies comparing masked and unmasked people have showed no difference in Covid case rates
‘I go to the store, I can’t talk to anybody, I can’t hear anybody, I can’t see anybody’s face … I want my community back.’ Dar Gibson Williston
between the two groups. “Masks can’t possibly work,” he said, noting that masks cannot be completely sealed around the nose and cheeks. “There are much better solutions out there.” Petty also presented evidence that masks are hindering learning in schools, affecting the ability of students to communicate with each other and with teachers. Williston’s Dar Gibson — who earlier in the meeting had interviewed for a spot on the town Energy Committee (and was
later appointed) — echoed the idea that masks are hindering communication and asked the board not to renew the mandate. “I go to the store, I can’t talk to anybody, I can’t hear anybody, I can’t see anybody’s face,” he said. “I want my community back … It seems like it’s time for personal choice.” The mandate requires people to wear masks in all indoor public areas. The board has the authority, granted last fall by the Legislature, to consider continued 30-day extensions of the mandate through April. The extension through Feb. 20 continues exemptions enacted with the original mandate in December, including exemptions for places of worship, children under age 2, people with disabilities that prevent them from safely wearing a mask, people while eating or drinking in a restaurant and people temporarily removing their masks to communicate with a group of people. Sharon Gutwin, who had also intersee MASKS page 24
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