Christie Wright & Cy Bailey - Assessment and Reappraisal in Vermont

The property assessment world often fixates on technology, uniformity, and standardization. But Vermont's unique system, where citizens can be elected as assessors with zero prior experience, reveals something profound about what actually matters in our profession: local knowledge, accessible processes, and the patient work of building trust.

The Three-Year Learning Curve as Feature, Not Bug

"There's so much information that it's going to take you at least three years before you get all the pieces," Christie Wright tells new assessors in Vermont. This timeline might horrify efficiency experts, but it reflects an honest reckoning with our profession's complexity.

Wright, who serves as Field Director of Property Valuation and Review for Vermont, has watched this pattern repeat for 25 years: overwhelmed newcomers gradually transform into competent assessors. "Three years later they'll come back to us and say, 'Oh my God, you're right. I'm finally starting to get all these pieces.'"

This extended learning curve isn't a failure of training, it's an acknowledgment that mass appraisal involves far more than running numbers through formulas. It requires understanding local markets, navigating complex legislation, and most critically, maintaining equity across time.

The Equity Paradox of Aged Assessments

Vermont's assessment landscape presents a striking case study in temporal equity challenges. Some jurisdictions haven't reappraised properties since 2007. In a state that saw "huge, drastic" market swings during COVID, this creates what might seem like an administrative nightmare.

Yet the state's response reveals sophisticated thinking about fairness. As Wright explains, assessors must resist the temptation to "chase the sale that just occurred." Instead, they must maintain equity within each assessment year, even as market values drift away from assessed values.

This principle, that horizontal equity within a tax year matters as much as accuracy to current market value, is "a very hard concept to get people to wrap their head around," Wright notes. But it's fundamental to fair taxation.

Technology's Limited Revolution

While larger jurisdictions experiment with pictometry and aerial photography, Vermont's rural landscape stubbornly resists technological quick fixes. "You're in a state with trees that are everywhere," observes Cy Bailey, Wright's colleague and a district advisor. "Sometimes things don't work out the way you hope they would."

The real technological opportunity, according to Wright, lies not in cutting-edge valuation tools but in basic GIS mapping, bringing all jurisdictions up to a baseline where citizens can click on a parcel and access property information. It's unglamorous work, but it directly serves transparency and public access.

The Radical Accessibility of Vermont's Appeal Process

Perhaps Vermont's most innovative contribution to assessment practice is its multi-tiered, no-cost appeal process. Unlike Massachusetts, where appeals quickly escalate to tax court, Vermont offers two preliminary venues: first, a hearing with the assessors themselves, then an appeal to the Board of Civil Authority, a body of about 12 local elected officials.

"It's very user friendly, it doesn't cost any money," Bailey emphasizes. This accessibility isn't just about customer service, it's about maintaining the social contract that underlies property taxation. When taxpayers can easily engage with the assessment process, they're more likely to understand and accept its outcomes.

The Value of Being Known

Vermont's system of elected "listers" (a term dating to when assessors literally counted livestock) might seem quaint or inefficient. These positions are "hard to fill" and "hard to keep people in," Wright acknowledges. Yet they serve a crucial function: keeping assessment local and personal.

"Taxpayers feel like they can go in and talk to someone who's local," Wright observes. "There's a real value in that and knowing each other." In an era of algorithmic valuations and remote work, this human connection might be Vermont's most important lesson for the broader assessment community.

Looking Forward: The Six-Year Solution

Vermont's new Act 68 mandates reappraisals every six years, a massive undertaking given that 99 of the state's roughly 250 jurisdictions currently need reappraisal orders. The challenge involves not just scheduling but creative solutions like combining small towns to attract contractors and achieve economies of scale.

This systematic approach to regular reappraisals addresses the "sticker shock" of 20-year gaps between valuations. More importantly, it promises "better equity throughout the state," as Wright puts it, a goal that transcends mere administrative efficiency.

Key Takeaways

For Assessors: Vermont's three-year learning curve validates what we all know but rarely admit: competent assessment requires deep, patient learning. There's no app for that.

For Leadership: Accessible, low-cost appeal processes build public trust more effectively than perfect valuations. Consider how your jurisdiction's appeal process appears to average taxpayers.

For the Profession: Vermont's balance of local knowledge and state oversight offers a model worth studying. Sometimes the most sophisticated solution is simply maintaining human connections while slowly building technical capacity.

The Vermont model reminds us that property assessment isn't just about accurate valuations, it's about maintaining public trust through accessible processes, local knowledge, and the patient work of education. In our rush toward technological solutions, we might do well to remember that some problems require time, transparency, and the irreplaceable value of being known in your community.