Good Governments Don't Do This

I saw a post on Facebook from a woman who stated that the Nashua Assessing Office lost her abatement application last year. Sorry, file again next year.

I researched her name and located her property. She owns a 1140 sq. ft. raised ranch in Trestle Brook Estates near the City landfill. This is a unique manufactured home, mobile park, where the residents pay a land lease to the park owner. The City taxes only the building. The average property owner pays nearly $5000 per year, for the land lease to the owner. 

The City is sticking it to these people. The Assessors are not watching out for those most in need and assessing their properties correctly.

There are twelve raised ranch homes within this development. These raised ranch buildings are being taxed about $5700 by the City. This is outrageously high. Two of the property owners, somehow, were able to get a Nashua Assessor to reduce their assessment in 2019 apparently without filing an abatement (which I support). The other 10 were left high. Why the inconsistent treatment of home owners? 

This residential Assessor reduced one property from $243,600 to $165,000 and the other property from $233,000 to $185,000. In the same development, the other Nashua residential assessor increased the assessment another raised ranch that sold in 2019 for #135,000 to $260,000. This is ludicrous. Do the two residential assessors even speak with each other? These property owners are paying close to $11,000 in taxes and land fees in a manufactured homes park next to the City landfill.

Why didn’t the Nashua assessor correct all of the seriously overtaxed raised ranch properties? Good governments shouldn’t stick it to those most in need. At a 2018 Board of Aldermen meeting, the Mayor responded to an Alderwoman’s question about how property owners can understand their new assessments, with the following quote:

“but the point is that we cannot and should not, in my opinion, ever get into trying to decide how this all applies to one house, because that’s why we have the Board of Assessors, that’s why we have the KRT, that’s why we have these professional people” (referring to our assessors)

What has the Mayor been doing about all this? Well, he promoted an unqualified insider who could not fix the problems and he supports lazy and unethical work habits. How do we trust our “professional” people and elected leadership when this is what is going on?

There is a serious lack of management in the Assessing office and absolutely no quality control. The oversight of the mobile home parks is under the supervision of our assessor who frequently naps in parking lots. In April 2019, the busiest assessment month of the year, our supervisor assessor, instead of stepping up his game and checking these properties, took extended, management supported, naps in parking lots while signing out on the office white board that he was visiting properties. Ironically, this park is very close to one of his favorite napping spots. 

These disproportionate assessments are the exact issues I have been researching and looking into for two years. The reason I was in City Hall on Friday was to get a date time stamp, proof of receipt, on two of these Trestle Brook property applications for senior citizens who wanted representation. These people are overtaxed by more than $1500. I was removed, under police escort, without being able to get the applications stamped. Attorney Neumann should have assisted me with pleasure.

I emailed the Assessing Chief Vincent and Aldermen Jette and asked them to look into this. The New Chief responded favorably. The practice of fair and equitable assessments eludes some of the neediest in Nashua. Let’s stop sticking it to those most in need.