This document provides information on the services and operations of a town clerk's office and assessor's office. It outlines the duties of each including land records, vital records, elections, dog licensing, property taxes, and maintaining the grand list. Statistics are given for transactions in various areas from fiscal years 2011-2014. The importance of the assessor's role in ensuring an equitable grand list for taxation purposes is discussed. Maintaining accurate property data and conducting inspections are described as key to this role.

2. CUSTOMER SERVICES
LAND RECORDS
PROPERTY TAXES
ELECTIONS
VITAL RECORDS
DOG LICENSING
IN THE BACK GROUND

3.  Absentee Voting
 Animal
Licensing/Impound
 Civil Marriage Licenses
 Green Mountain Pass
 Land Posting
Application/Filing
 Notary Services
 Passport Processing
 Photos (Passports)
 Land Record Research
Assistance
 Tax Billing/Collection
 Taxpayer Assistance
 Vehicle Registration
Renewals
 Vital Records
 Voter Registration
 Phone Assistance

5. • 19 Land Record volumes filled in
fiscal year 2013/2014
• 14,231 pages scanned and
printed
• All records have been
scanned/microfilmed

6. Receive Recording Daily
Record Cash and Mail
Scan Land Records
Index Land Records
Post on Public Use
Computers
Cross Check Indexing
Print Land Record Books,
Indexes and Reports
Mail back original
documents

7. • Receive incoming
mylars (surveys,
subdivisions,
boundary line
adjustments, floor
plans etc.)
• Scan mylar
• Index
• Post on public use
computers

8. Indexing Old Land Records to add to ACS
Indexing Old Mylars (surveys) to add to
ACS

9. Statistical Information for Fiscal Year 2013/2014
Total Grand List 19,690,543.72
Total Parcel Count 6592
Total Taxes Billed 38,759,826.49
Total Tax Credits Received 3,793,617.40
Revenue Retained by Town 55,764.78
Total Transferred to School 24,041,385.22
Veterans Exemptions (44) 1,720,000.00
Current Use Exemptions (34) 6,038,417.00
Delinquent Tax Balance
Current Year 201,787.01 .5206% of taxes billed
Overall 297,489.67 .7680% of taxes billed

10. January File final 411 (Grand List info) with State Tax Dept.
Reconcile both Grand Lists
Assist customers with homestead declarations
Provide copies of customers tax bills/taxes paid for
income taxes thru April
Mail delinquent notices
February Prepare working grand list in nemrc to receive state
homestead downloads
Receive weekly downloads of homesteads
Check over download list and send response via
nemrc accordingly
Mail delinquent notices

11. March Tax installment due 15th
Process refunds
Mail delinquent notices
April Review delinquent accounts in preparation of tax sale
Reconcile education funds sent to school from the state
education dept. cash flow report
Mail delinquent notices
May Submit to the state tax department an electronic listing of
parcels that should declare homesteads
Continue reconciliation with assessor office
Assist with mailing of assessment notices to parcel
owners
Mail delinquent notices

12. June Reconcile property tax related general ledger accounts for fiscal
year end
Review nemrc tax accounts for fiscal year end
Board of abatement preparation
Coordinate schedules with assessors office to complete tax billing
file for printers
Mail delinquent notices
July Prepare tax bill file for printers
Receive first tax credit download file from state
Coordinate BCA appeals
Process tax credit refunds
Adjust tax bills for BCA, downloads, errors & omissions
Mail delinquent notices
August Submit 411 to state tax dept.
15th Taxes due – first installment
Complete school payment schedule with estimated figures
Mail delinquent notices

13. September Transfer school education funds to school district
Receive cash flow spreadsheet from state and reconcile
estimate
Receive 2nd tax credit file from state
Process tax refunds
Adjust tax bills for download
Mail delinquent notices
October 15th is deadline for filing homestead and tax credit with
state
Mail delinquent notices
November Receive last tax credit payment file from state
Adjust tax bills
Process tax refunds
15th is 2nd installment due date
Reconcile grand list with assessor office prior to Dec. 1
Mail delinquent notices
December End of any grand list changes and state homestead
downloads

14.  Town/School (every 1st Tuesday in March)
 State Primary (3rd Tuesday in August every
other year)
 Presidential Primary (1st Tuesday in March
every 4 years)
 State and Federal Elections (1st Tuesday in
November every other year)
 Bond Votes (when required)
 Revotes (when necessary)
 Special Elections (when necessary)
 Each election “type” has it’s own set of rules
• Declare party at Presidential Primary
• Four ballots at State Primary
• Different Warning and Posting
requirements

15. Statewide Checklist
-Additions, deletions, address changes etc.
-Entering participation from elections.
-Reports (Checklists, Participation etc.)
-Federal reporting for Election Assistance
Commission

16. Town Meeting statistics
Election
Date
#Eligibl
e Voters
Total
number
voted
% of
eligible
voters
Voted
Absente
e
% Voted
absente
e of
total
voted
% of
those
who
voted
absentee
voted in
the office
March
2012
10,940 2,893 26% 458 15% 49%
March
2013
11,297 2,890 25% 443 15% 54%
March
2014
11,398 3,510 30% 556 15% 57%

17. •Record, index and
card Birth and Death
Certificates and
Marriage Licenses
•Weekly & Quarterly
reporting for licenses

18. Vital Record Statistics
Type of Vital
Record
FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013
Birth 154 187 150
Death 124 129 109
Marriage 115 121 116

20. •Print all licenses at the beginning of the year.
•Order Tags
•Maintain email data to email reminder letters for
license renewals
Year # Dogs Licensed
2012 1109
2013 1053
2014 951

21.  Accounts Receivable and
Miscellaneous Payments
 Daily Cash Receipts
Reconciliation
 Cleanliness of vault /office
area
 Update statute books
 Licensing
 Delinquent Tax collection
• Tax Sales
• Collection Agreements
 Banking
• Transfers
• Open/Close Accounts
• Reconciliations
 School Payments
• Transfers
• Reconciliations
• Coordination with School
Business Office
 Month/Year End
Procedures
 Warrant Reviews
• Review invoices/checks
• Sign and Send Checks

22. Assisting Assessor’s Office
Customer questions/information
Monthly database changes/corrections
Annual reconciliation of Grand List
Office support when Assessor is away

23. THE ASSESSOR’S
OFFICE
What does the Assessor do?

24. The Grand Lists
• The Grand List is the list
of all taxable and non-taxable
parcels in the
Town of Colchester.
• Owners
• Mailing Addresses
• Parcel Locations
• Tracking Numbers
• Descriptions
• Values
• Exemptions
• Homesteads and House-site
information

25. The Importance of The Grand List
• Ownership changes
• Address Changes
• Building and Land Data
• Real Estate Values
• Establishes The
Property Tax Rates
• Individual property taxes
• Property tax is the
number 1 source of town
revenues

26. Graph from FY 14 Municipal Budget Power Point
In FY 2014 The Property Tax is 82% of all
Town Revenues
Assessor’s
Office /
Property Taxes
82%
Planning &
Zoning Fees
Miscellaneous
Revenues 2%
Intergov 5%
2%
Town Clerk
Fees 3%
Rescue 3%
Transfers, 3%

27. Growth and Equity
• Property Inspections
• 851 Recorded parcel
visits from the date the
2013 GL was lodged to
date the 2014 GL was
lodged
• 584 Change of
Assessment Notices
were mailed
• 170 Assessment were
lowered
• 414 Assessments were
increased

28. Grand List Growth
• FY 2014 Net Growth
• $31,890,600
• 1.62% Increase
2.000%
1.800%
1.600%
1.400%
1.200%
1.000%
0.800%
0.600%
0.400%
0.200%
0.000%
-0.200%
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Series1

29. Equity in the Grand List = Fair Taxation
• Tools we use in
the Assessor’s
Office
• Ration Studies
• Measures of Central
Tendencies - CLA
• Coefficient of
Dispersion (COD)
Ration studies are an
invaluable tool to
determine where the
GL need adjusting to
ensure equity
Tell us “what
neighborhoods need
to be reassessed”

30. Other Essential Duties
• Customer Service
• State Equalized
Education Grand List
• Enhanced 911
Coordinator
• Parcel Mapping
• Online GIS and Parcel
Data

31. Needs in the Assessor’s Department
• Parcels Per Hour
• Hartford 5441 parcels 75 hours per week 73 parcels per hour
• Rutland 5928 parcels 75 hours per week 79 parcels per hour
• S Burlington 7388 parcels 60 hours per week 123 parcels per hour
• Essex 7602 parcels 80 hours per week 95 parcels per hour
• Burlington 10372 parcels 120 hours per week 86 parcels per hour
• Bennington 5320 parcels 105 hours per week 51 parcels per hour
• Colchester 6593 parcels 56 hours per week 118 parcels per hour
(includes 8 hour shared position with finance, 8 hour contracted with Essex)
International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) estimates 62.5 parcels per hour
is typical for Municipalities. For a town the size of Colchester that would be 2.6 full
time employees or 104 hours a week.
*Hours per week data was provided by the Assessing Department in the respected Towns and Cities.
*Hours per week does not include contracted services, positions shared with other departments, and temporary employee hires.

32. Solutions and Efficiencies
• Sharing the work load
• Cross training with the Clerks and Planning and Zoning
• Sharing a calendar with the Building Inspector
• Implementing import and export routines with the
Planning and Zoning software, the tax billing software,
GIS software, and assessment software
• Clerks office taking on greater responsibilities
• Data entry for property transfers
• Screening walk in questions
• Running reports
• Answering basic assessment questions from the public by phone