Cheshire Assessors Working on Business Tax 'Noncompliance'

The Selectmen plan to meet with the Board of Assessors to review personal property tax compliance.

CHESHIRE, Mass. — The Board of Assessors says it hired an outside evaluator to ensure that there are no inequities in taxing personal property.

A statement from the board was read Tuesday night at the Selectmen's meeting in response to accusations last week by a resident of unfair taxation. 

The Selectmen had hoped to meet with the Board of Assessors, but the evaluation panel had a scheduling conflict. However, it did provide a statement saying it had collected $80,000 in personal property taxes last year and had paid nearly $5,000 for an outside assessment service to evaluate all businesses that are listed by the town clerk.

George Tremblay, owner of landscaping business Berkshire Buildings & Grounds, has accused the assessors of not properly collecting the personal property "form of list"  from all of the town's businesses. He said he believed many businesses are improperly making out their form of list and do not pay the correct amount of personal property tax.

Tremblay said he felt the assessors "sweep this information under the rug" and do not actually collect the property taxes they are supposed to.  

"That's my beef … year after year I am still paying and the people outside of my window aren't paying," he said. "The answer again is that 'we have an outside firm.'"

Tremblay advocated for putting liens on these businesses or making it more difficult for them to get permitting if they did not file their form of list.

Town Administrator Mark Webber said the town cannot legally stop permitting because a business didn't file a form of list and that the assessors are aware of "equality issues caused by noncompliance" and they are trying to remedy it.

He said it was planned that next month an outside service will come in to re-evaluate businesses for personal property. He said the town revaluation process will start next year and the assessors are looking at hiring someone annually for $4,000 to $5,000 to evaluate personal property. He said this money would likely be recaptured in money the town gains from the evaluation.

Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said she still wished to discuss the issue with the assessors.

"They are the elected body in the town of Cheshire, and I will take their word whether they are or not collecting the form of list, but I can't meet with them if they are not free," Francesconi said. "We will meet with them and get to the bottom of this."

Mark Cappadona, a Colonial Power Group representative, gave the board a rundown on municipal electrical aggregation.

Because of the recent increase in electricity rates, many towns and cities have joined municipal electrical aggregation plans that allow residents to purchase power from another provider at a cheaper rate. This item will be on the Cheshire annual town meeting warrant.

Cappadona said if the town passes the article, it would give the town the ability to enter the market and look for a cheaper rate. He said anyone can opt out at any time and find a different provider other than what the town chooses as its default.

"It is an opt-out program, so if you didn't do anything, you would automatically be enrolled in the program," he said. "All that means is that you would be enrolled in the program but you always have the choice to get out. The program is all about choice."

Cappadona said Cheshire could join the group of Berkshire County municipalities that receive power from Hampshire Power or it can play the market and create its own plan. He said Cheshire should be competitive among suppliers.

"I can tell you that suppliers call us every day," he said. "The smaller the aggregation sometimes the smaller the supplier that can address those issues. There are a lot of different options."

If Cheshire passes the article, it will take nearly eight months to finalize the process. He said it is anticipated that National Grid's rates will drop below the Hampshire Power rates, but agreeing to the article will free Cheshire from only accepting what National Grid offers.

Ciskowski said he felt the program was flexible but that it was important to make townspeople aware of any penalties they may accrue by switching providers frequently.

"We don't want to lead anyone down the wrong path or mislead anyone," he said. "I think what he said was true but we don't want to lead anyone down the wrong path."

In other business, resident Elizabeth Ariazi said it has been difficult for her to get home with the Sand Mill Road bridge closed.

"It's not like a little detour, it's a four-mile detour," she said. "I bought my house because I lived a half a mile from the main road and now I live four miles from the main road. That is a long distance especially in the winter."

Because the bridge has fallen into disrepair, the state asked that the town close it in March. The board anticipates that a full repair without state funding would cost about $1 million. Lack of funding could extend the bridge's closure for years.

Ariazi said she called the District 1 bridge engineer and was told that the bridge did not have to be replaced, but could be repaired for $50,000. She said he urged the town of Cheshire to contact him.

However, Webber said he has been trying to contact the state for weeks now and his calls have not been returned. Webber said he would contact the person Ariazi talked to.

"I called and I am waiting for a call back; I called and I am waiting for a second call back," Webber said. "I would continue what you are doing because you got more of reaction out of them then we have."

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