Townwide reappraisal is set to begin the last week of July. The Town has engaged NEMRC (New England Municipal Resource Center) and they will be visiting properties to verify information. If no-one is home, they will leave a door-hanger card. The card will tell you an interior inspection is needed to ensure the accuracy of the assessment, provide you a phone number to call for a data verification interview or video interview. You will be able to use this link https://nemrc.info/wheelock/ to enter your personal code to review the data on your parcel and report any changes in the accuracy.
REAPPRAISAL – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What information do the reappraisers need to complete an inspection?
The State of VT Property Valuation and Review Tax Department has certain criteria and
stipulations for when a municipality is conducting a reappraisal. The state’s purpose for
this is to set the education tax rates for all municipalities. One of these criteria is the
collection of physical characteristics. Characteristics include square footage of
buildings, land size, numbers of bedrooms, numbers of bathrooms, and the quality and
quantity of amenities. Assessors will be making their way through town, visiting every
parcel, verifying measurements of buildings, taking a photo of the front of each building,
and correcting property data when needed. Data collectors may also ask you questions
about your property as it relates to property value. In addition, the quality of materials in
the interior, as well as the condition of the interior predicts the amount of depreciation to
apply.
Am I required to allow access to my property during a reappraisal?
You are not required to permit them to enter your home. However, their sole purpose is
to collect the correct data to assist in providing a fair and equitable value of the property.
Please contact the appraisers or a town lister if you have questions or concerns.
If my assessment goes up, does that mean my taxes will increase?
Not necessarily. Taxes are determined by dividing the total town budget (approved by
the voters at Town Meeting) by the total assessed value of town properties, and the total
grand list will change in the wake of the reassessment, so it is likely that most or all
town property values increase.
Assuming no change in the town budget, if the assessed value of your property
increases in exact proportion to the total valuation of all properties, your taxes will not
change. If your property value increases more as a percentage than the town average,
your taxes will increase, and if your property value increases less than the average as a
percentage, your taxes will go down (again, assuming no change in the town budget).
I have not done any improvements to my house. Why did the value go up?
The real estate market has changed a lot since the last statistical update in 2013. The
town listers have made ongoing updates to individual property values as land has been
subdivided or combined or residents have reported major changes to their properties.
The purpose of the reappraisal is to bring the values established years ago to current
market values and to establish equity across parcels. The 2013 ‘reappraisal’ was an
update of values based solely on sales rather than an inspection of properties.
What if I am unsatisfied with the updated property value?
Please contact an appraiser or a lister if you have concerns or questions about your
updated property value. Arrangements can be made for ‘informal’ meetings to share
information.
The Town will follow the statutory procedure for holding grievance hearings to allow
property owners to express dissatisfaction with new property values. We'll share more
information about that after the assessors have completed their initial work.
Timeline for Grievances
The deadline for filing the Abstract of the 2026 Grand List is June 5. By statute, Change
of Appraisal Notices will are mailed to property owners, probably in a booklet form, on
the same day the grand list is filed. Grievance Hearings will be held in June in
accordance with statutory requirements. Information about when and how to apply for
an appeal of your assessment will be included in the Change of Appraisal Notice.