In September 2023, site visits started for town residential properties and are still ongoing. There will be two more batches of letters mailed to town residential property owners before the first batch of letters to city residents will be mailed, which is slated for January 2025.
The letters offer property owners the option to simply set up an appointment for both the interior and exterior site visit, prior to the field appraisers beginning their neighborhood visits. If no appointment is set, the field appraisers will be in those neighborhoods each day. The field appraiser will proceed to knock on doors to gather information from the property owner and ask to conduct an interior inspection, which on average takes 10-15 minutes. If the owner is not present, they will conduct an exterior inspection. This entails collecting data such as measurements, roofing material, siding, and overall condition of the exterior of the home. Additionally, they will note any measurements and condition of outbuildings. The exterior visit also includes pictures of the front, sides, and rear of the home and pictures of the outbuildings. They will not access any gated areas. After the exterior inspection, if the property owner is not present, a green door placard is left with information about the site visit and contact information to set up an interior inspection.
Again, we want to express our appreciation to all the property owners for their cooperation during this process.
It is anticipated, in January 2025 letters will be sent to all town and city commercial, commercial apartments, and industrial property owners requesting income and expense data (all information supplied is confidential and protected from public disclosure (32 VSA § 4009). Weighing financial as well as physical attributes for these properties is crucial in the valuing process.
Site visits are expected to continue into April 2025. As we proceed, we will provide more in-depth information such as:
- How property owners will receive their preliminary assessments
- How to view the data about their property
- How to schedule informal meetings to discuss the data & assessment
- When and where the informal meetings will be held
- Ways to view the changes for all properties in the municipality
- The formal appeal process (after the informal meeting)
If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (802) 878-1345, email assessor@essex.org or stop by the Assessor’s office at 81 Main Street, M-F from 8:00 am-4:30 pm.