City A Publication of the Department of Revenue’s Division of Local Services and Town Henry Dormitzer Commissioner Robert G. Nunes, Deputy Commissioner & Director of Municipal Affairs Volume 20, No. 7 September 2007 Fiscal Year 2008 Certification Land Review Joanne Graziano, Supervisor Bureau of Local A ssessment The appraisal of land to arrive at full and standard lots, excess land, front feet or by neighborhood, and by lot size. The fair cash value can be a challenging secondary lots, factors), land tables studies by lot size should be stratified as follows: but satisfying task for an assessor or implemented, size curves applied, and real estate appraiser. There are many factors applied. It has been a success- • primary lot size or by zoning (if ap- variables that can affect land valuation ful effort to date and the staff has identi- plicable); such as the quality of the data, market fied problems such as factored land sales, land speculation, building tear schedules without a base neighbor- • oversized by primary lot size or by downs, conservation easements, and hood, outdated land adjustments, zoning; and smart growth zoning so that even the neighborhood inconsistencies and size • oversized by neighborhood (NBHD) most experienced assessor will never curve problems that have been reme- if excess varies by NBHD. bore of developing these values. died. If there is an insufficient number of vacant land sales, land residuals (de- It’s important to note that the statistical Beginning with the 2005 state owned termining land values by subtracting the requirement for the overall land resid- land valuation (SOL) program, the Bu- building cost from the total sale price) ual study must have a median between reau of Local Assessment (BLA) used are being used. BLA field advisors are 90 to 110 percent with a coefficient of the assessors’ locally certified land reviewing them closely even if the sta- dispersion (COD) of 20 percent or less. schedules as its starting point. This tran- tistical analyses meet the certification This median assessment/sale ratio sition was lengthy and complex as BLA guideline requirements. Documenting (ASR) must be within five points of the and local assessors jointly and success- land schedules has proven to be diffi- major class for the community. Sub- fully identified all reimbursable SOL over cult for some assessors if they have studies, including neighborhood and a three-year period. As a result of this applied significant adjustments without continued on page seven statewide review process, BLA deter- adequate support. mined that both prime site values and, in Inside This Issue particular, excess land values required Assessors revaluing land for certification a little more scrutiny when community review are expected to provide a brief DLS Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 schedules are certified by BLA. narrative on the development of the pric- Best Practices ing methodology. In addition, the asses- Westwood’s Finance Team Recognized. . . . . . . 2 To that end BLA has made numerous sor should provide land instructions that Legal presentations across the state to the describe the method of pricing primary Attorney–Client Privilege for Government various assessors’ associations as well Attorneys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 lots, excess land, un-developable land, as explaining the process to individual Focus front foot or secondary pricing, and the communities undergoing certification of The MERIT Plan: Property Tax Relief for schedule for waterfront and condition Veterans. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 their property values. It is BLA’s objec- adjustments. A copy of the land rate tive to identify potential problems with Municipal Cabinet: Chiefs Propose to Expand tables including primary, excess, and 911 Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 the land schedules early in the certifica- front foot price is also expected along Closing the Digital Divide: the Broadband tion project timetable and prior to com- with a neighborhood map. Incentive Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 munities finalizing their land schedules. DLS Notices To do this the BLA field appraisers/advi- For land analyses reports, in addition CP-1 Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 to the vacant land and “P-coded” (land sors are conducting a data quality land In Our Opinion Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Mark Your Calendars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 review. The field staff are required to that has changed its use after the sale) review and understand how the com- land studies, assessors should provide DLS Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 munity’s land is being formatted, (i.e. land residuals studies, a study sorted Municipal Fiscal Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
City & Town September 2007 Division of Local Services 2 Best Practices DLS Commentary These are the best — and worst — times for cities and towns in Massachusetts. Westwood’s Finance Team Recognized The administra- Westwood Finance Commission Administrator Sheila Nee and Finance Director Pam Dukeman tion of Governor At a recent Westwood Board of Select- the GFOA’s award program. The posi- Deval Patrick men’s meeting, a presentation was tion of town finance director had been and Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray made to the town’s finance team for its newly created and the finance team is committed to delivering meaningful Comprehensive Annual Financial Re- worked diligently to produce its first relief to cash-strapped local govern- port (CAFR). For the tenth consecutive CAFR for which Westwood received its ments and, with the support of the year, Westwood’s finance team won the original award. legislature, succeeded in enacting Certificate of Achievement for Excel- reforms that will enable some of the The award recognizes that Westwood lence in Financial Reporting from the commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns fully discloses financial information to the Government Finance Officers Associa- to better manager their pension and highest standard for a municipality. The tion of the United States and Canada health care costs. These reforms de- report gives a complete picture of the (GFOA). The GFOA is a group of state, livered a double dose of good news community’s finances in a clear and un- provincial and local finance officers and were a big step forward for the derstandable format. It includes informa- that work for smooth management of Municipal Partnership Act. tion on the town’s budget, debt, assets, government finances. Their Certificate salaries, and property tax collections. But there is much more to be done. It of Achievement is the highest form of is clear that more and more communi- recognition in governmental account- In 10 years of receiving the award, ties are facing fiscal stress and strain. ing and financial reporting, and its at- Westwood has kept up with changing Attempts to override Proposition 2 1 ⁄ 2 tainment represents a significant ac- reporting standards, which included have triggered disagreements in fi- complishment by a government and its requirements to report pension liability nance committees, boards of select- management. Few Massachusetts and Management’s Discussion and men, city councils and town meetings. communities of Westwood’s size have Analysis (MD&A). The finance team received this award prior to FY2006. also has begun to employ more tech- We’ll report to you on the results of the nology in the reporting, including color overrides, and possibly, one under- In FY1997, the Board of Selectmen graphics and posting the report on the ride as well, in a subsequent edition made a commitment to advance its fi- town’s website. of City and Town . In the meantime, nancial reporting by participating in continued on page eight we want to hear from you. In October, look for a DLS alert that links to an electronic City and Town feedback form. In the meantime, please feel free to write City and Town directly at its new e-mail address, cityandtown@ dor.state.ma.us. We’d appreciate hearing what you think of City and Town , how it can be improved, and the issues you’d like to see us cover. Robert G. Nunes Deputy Commissioner & Director of Municipal Affairs From left to right: Finance Commission Administrator Sheila Nee, Town Accountant Marie O’Leary, Selectman Patrick Ahearn, Finance Director Pam Dukeman, Selectman Nancy Hyde, and Assistant Treasurer Pat Conley.
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