Updates
- November 2025
- July 2025
- April 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- October 2023
- September 2023
REAPPRAISAL UPDATE NOVEMBER 2025
To date, five batches of reappraisal notice/letters for Essex Junction residential property owners were mailed. Property owners receiving the notices and/or finding the green inspection cards at their doors are continuing to graciously schedule interior inspections. The designated days for the scheduled residential interior inspections are Tuesday and Thursday between 9:00am – 6:00pm. The inspections take 10-15 minutes if the Field Appraiser had already measured the exterior, took exterior photos, and left a green card. For a scheduled appointment, prior to any visit, please allow for at least thirty minutes for the inspection. We want to again express our gratitude to the property owners for allowing us to visit their property.
On Wednesday, October 15th letters and income and expense forms were mailed to all commercial property owners (retail, office, and mixed-use), commercial apartment, and industrial property for both town and city. The letter requests that the owners complete the 2024 income and expense data pertaining to the property. As the letter indicates, “When determining commercial property values, the Assessing Department must weigh financial as well as physical attributes (the commercial Field Appraisals will be going out to inspect the properties as well). The income approach assumes that the willing seller and buyer of any income producing property consider the income to be derived from that property as critical in the decision to buy or sell. By completing and returning the enclosed form(s), you help ensure the development of a sound basis to estimate the income approach to value. Please be aware that this information will be used only to determine ‘market’ income and expense levels for commercial, industrial, and apartment properties. In accordance with State Law and except as provided therein, all information listed on the forms is not available to the public for inspection. [32 V.S.A. §4009].”
Because we do not have a record of which commercial properties are owner-occupied, we initially sent forms to all commercial property owners. We ask those who own and occupy their commercial property to return the forms with "owner-occupied" indicated and if you are willing, to provide the property's expense details.
Thank you to the commercial property owners who have returned the completed forms, and we look forward to receiving the remaining responses.
Please visit our website at Assessing Department | Essex, VT for more information pertaining to the Reappraisal Project 2026.
We want to thank all property owners again for their cooperation and kindness throughout this project.
REAPPRAISAL UPDATE JULY 2025
The first two batches of reappraisal notice/letters for 715 Essex Junction residential property owners were mailed between May and June. Property owners receiving the notices and/or finding the green inspection cards at their doors have been graciously scheduling interior inspections. The designated days for the scheduled interior inspections are Tuesday and Thursday between 9:00am – 3:00pm. The inspections take 10-15 minutes. Appointments are being booked quickly, and we want to express our gratitude to the property owners for allowing us to visit their property. The third batch of Essex Junction residential letters are anticipated to be mailed Friday, August 8th. The batch will include 327 properties, and the inspections are expected to begin mid-August. While working in the city, the Field Appraisers are also inspecting Town of Essex residential properties that need follow up for the interior inspections. In between inspections, either knocking on doors or scheduled appointments, the Field Appraisers are busy inputting data collected from the inspections. There is never a down time!
While inspections are taking place, CATALIS, the reappraisal firm, is working in the background setting up valuation models in our new valuation software. The models are created from market data that is analyzed to produce data sets. These models assist in preparing and generating the new assessments, both in the Town and City for next year’s completion.
The project is moving along. More information will be provided as we near the preliminary valuation stage, slated for May 2026.
Please visit our website at Assessing Department | Essex, VT for more information pertaining to the Reappraisal Project 2026.
We want to thank the property owners again for their cooperation and kindness throughout this project.
REAPPRAISAL UPDATE APRIL 2025
With the last batch of reappraisal data collection winding down for the residential properties in the town, the first batch of letters for collecting data for residential properties in the city will be mailed May 1, 2025. The letter’s purpose is to inform property owners that field appraisers will be in their area during a stated time. For the May letter, although not specified, the data collection will begin in the latter part of May.
You may view a copy of the letter on the Assessor - City of Essex Junction, Vermont. Or select Letter to taxpayers in column on left side of this page.
If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (802) 878-1345, email assessor@essex.org or stop by our office at 81 Main Street, M-F from 8:00am-4:30pm.
PRESS RELEASE
December 6, 2024
Reappraisal deadline extended for Town of Essex and City of Essex Junction
The Town of Essex and City of Essex Junction want to extend our appreciation to all property owners for their patience and understanding throughout the past year as we navigate through the reappraisal process.
The reappraisal project has been in the property data collection and analysis phase since September 2023 and had an expected completion date of June 2025. As of November 13, 2024, the project is approximately 55 percent complete. Recently, the reappraisal firm, CATALIS Tax & CAMA, Inc., informed us of an unexpected delay. The delay is due to the difficulty in recruitment and retention for the adequate number of field inspectors (a.k.a. Data Collectors) required to complete the data collection phase. To avoid compromising the quality of work and standards expected for the overall project, the reappraisal’s completion date has been extended to June 2026. This delay will assure that all properties are valued more fairly and equitably. CATALIS is fully committed to regaining momentum to deliver a product that meets the standards expected and required. The delay will be at no additional cost to the Town and City.
Moving forward, to ensure that the Town and City Grand Lists for 2025 are completed in a timely manner, CATALIS will assist the Assessing Department with completing all permit work. This additional support comes at no extra charge. For the July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, tax year, property owners will see no change to property values unless they have completed additions, renovations, subdivisions, or any data changes, thereby increasing or decreasing their value. If any changes are made to a property, the property owner will receive a Change of Real Estate Value Notice from the Assessing Department in June 2025, when the Grand List is filed with the Clerk’s Office.
Again, we appreciate your understanding and patience throughout this process. We will continue to provide guidance, updates, and answer any questions.
If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (802) 878-1345 or assessor@essex.org.
NOVEMBER 2024 REAPPRAISAL UPDATE
In September 2023, site visits started for town residential properties and are still ongoing. There will be two more batches of letters mailed to town residential property owners before the first batch of letters to city residents will be mailed, which is slated for January 2025.
The letters offer property owners the option to simply set up an appointment for both the interior and exterior site visit, prior to the field appraisers beginning their neighborhood visits. If no appointment is set, the field appraisers will be in those neighborhoods each day. The field appraiser will proceed to knock on doors to gather information from the property owner and ask to conduct an interior inspection, which on average takes 10-15 minutes. If the owner is not present, they will conduct an exterior inspection. This entails collecting data such as measurements, roofing material, siding, and overall condition of the exterior of the home. Additionally, they will note any measurements and condition of outbuildings. The exterior visit also includes pictures of the front, sides, and rear of the home and pictures of the outbuildings. They will not access any gated areas. After the exterior inspection, if the property owner is not present, a green door placard is left with information about the site visit and contact information to set up an interior inspection.
Again, we want to express our appreciation to all the property owners for their cooperation during this process.
It is anticipated, in January 2025 letters will be sent to all town and city commercial, commercial apartments, and industrial property owners requesting income and expense data (all information supplied is confidential and protected from public disclosure (32 VSA § 4009). Weighing financial as well as physical attributes for these properties is crucial in the valuing process.
Site visits are expected to continue into April 2025. As we proceed, we will provide more in-depth information such as:
How property owners will receive their preliminary assessments
How to view the data about their property
How to schedule informal meetings to discuss the data & assessment
When and where the informal meetings will be held
Ways to view the changes for all properties in the municipality
The formal appeal process (after the informal meeting)
If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (802) 878-1345, email assessor@essex.org or stop by our office at 81 Main Street, M-F from 8:00am-4:30pm.
As most property owners are aware, the Town of Essex has contracted with Catalis Tax & CAMA, Inc. (formerly known as Patriot Properties, Inc.) to complete a Town-wide reappraisal for all property on the Grand List.
The last reappraisal was in 2007. Due to the time that has passed since the last reappraisal and in anticipation of a mandate by the State of Vermont based upon reappraisal standards at that time, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was issued in September 2022. Upon Select Board approval, the above reappraisal contract was executed in December 2022 and the reappraisal process began in July 2023. The reappraisal completion date is slated for June 2025.
The primary reasons for a reappraisal are as follows:
- Over time, the market changes due to supply and demand as it relates to various aspects of buyer and seller behaviors, location, and building type.
- A location and/or building type may have become less or more valuable than it was in a previous reappraisal.
- A span between reappraisals creates more opportunity for inequities to grow and usually leads to larger and unpredictable changes to property values.
- As inequities increase, the tax burden on individual property owners becomes unfair.
- Property taxes are based on property values. Without periodic reappraisals, some property owners would pay more while others would pay less.
- Reappraisal resets property values to their current market value so that the property tax burden is equalized for all taxpayers.
- Reappraisal assures every property owner they are only paying their fair share.
- Property improvements/changes are captured to ensure the accuracy of our data.
- Improvements that need adding to the assessment include updated kitchen and bathrooms, new additions such as a patio or deck, or an enclosed porch converted to living space after the last reappraisal.
- Other changes captured are improvements no longer on the property, such as in-ground swimming pools and detached buildings.
- Deferred maintenance of improvements that assists in evaluating depreciation. Depreciation lowers the value; the amount depends on the deferred maintenance of the property.
- A reappraisal identifies these market and data changes and appropriately assesses any variations to ensure fair and equitable valuations.
Reappraisals consist of a review and revaluation of properties to determine their current fair market value for property tax purposes. During this process, we find it crucial to work with property owners to obtain complete and accurate data that ensures fair and equitable valuation results. This will ensure all property owners are paying their fair share of property taxes. To this end, it is essential to have access to inspect both the property’s exterior and interior improvements. If denied access to the property, it makes it difficult to generate an accurate valuation and forces an educated assumption based upon a comparison of like properties that have sold over the last three years.
Reappraisals are a component of the State of Vermont Property Valuation & Review Tax Department’s annual Equalization Study. Below is information regarding the State of Vermont’s Equalization Study and how it relates to reappraisals.
- The Equalization Study’s purpose is to assess how close the grand list of assessed values is compared to 100% of Fair Market Value.
- The study analyzes sales ratios for the prior three (3) years (assessed value divided by sale price). This ratio is known as Common Level of Appraisal (CLA).
- Vermont's law defines CLA as “the ratio of the aggregate value of the local education property tax Grand List to the aggregate value of the equalized education property tax Grand List.” (32 V.S.A. § 5401(3)).
- The CLA is used to equalize education taxes statewide with the goal of having properties of equal value pay equal amounts of school taxes.
- Staying as close to 100% fair market value is the target, and we want to stay as close to that as possible for as long as possible.
- A town’s CLA has no effect on the amount of property taxes owed on the town portion of a property tax bill.
- The study indicates equity between the valuation of property types and is tracked by the State of Vermont in a statistic called the Coefficient of Dispersion (COD).
- The COD tells us the equity of the valuations for all property in the town to ensure that all properties are taxed fairly.
- The Equalization Study relies upon both the CLA and COD.
- The 2023 State Equalization Study Results were issued by the Vermont Department of Taxes on January 2, 2024, and indicate an overall CLA ratio for property in the Town of Essex of 69.22%.
- The Town of Essex CLA is down from the prior year 2022 ratio of 78.35%, which was a combined CLA with the Village of Essex Junction (now known as the City of Essex Junction).
- The 2023 study indicates an overall COD ratio for property in the Town of Essex of 15.07%, up from the prior year 2022 combined COD of 11.83%.
- A COD below 10% is good, but as the number approaches 20%, it will trigger a mandatory reappraisal order from the State of Vermont.
We welcome any questions or concerns. Please do not hesitate to call, email, or visit the Assessing Department during normal business hours (M-F 8:00am-4:30pm).
After selecting the first batch of 411 properties and the letters mailed to owners in late September 2023, the data collectors have been busy visiting properties. Based on most visits, the collaboration between the data collectors and the property owners is going smoothly. The cooperation from the owners has been appreciated and is crucial for getting the work done for completing fair and accurate assessments. The work is almost done with the first batch of properties, which are on the outskirts of town. The next batch of letters is slated for mailing by the end of next week, which includes 437 properties and consists of more in-town properties.
You may view a copy of the letter on the Town of Essex website.
If you have any questions, please contact the Assessing Department at (802) 878-1345, email assessor@essex.org or stop by our office at 81 Main Street, M-F from 8:00am-4:30pm.
Why is a municipal-wide reappraisal necessary?
Over time, the market changes. This is due to supply and demand as it relates to various aspects of buyer and seller behaviors, location and building type. As a result, a location and/or building type may have become less or more valuable than it was in a previous reappraisal. A reappraisal identifies these market changes and appropriately assesses these variations to ensure fair and equitable valuations. In addition, the State of Vermont Property Valuation & Review Tax Department completes an annual equalization study of each community in the state. This study provides a Common Level of Appraisal (CLA) that indicates the ratio of sale prices over the past three years to the municipality’s Grand List assessed values. The current CLA for the Town of Essex & City of Essex Junction is 78.35%. A reappraisal is necessary to bring that ratio back to 100% market value.
Based on market trends, the current CLA, and most recent reappraisal conducted in 2007, it was decided that a municipal-wide reappraisal is warranted.
I have not made any improvements to my house; how can the value go up or down?
The market has changed since the last reappraisal in 2007. The purpose of the reappraisal is to bring the values established in 2007 to current market values and to ensure equity across all properties.
What if I am not at home when the data collectors visit my home?
Letters will be mailed in groups to property owners to inform them that the data collectors will be in their neighborhood. The letter explains the data collecting process during the reappraisal project (A sample of the letter is available on the Town of Essex website; www.essexvt.org > Assessing Department > Reappraisal 2025). Unfortunately, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact date and/or day that they will be at a certain property unless a prior appointment is scheduled. We do realize property owners have cameras to protect themselves and their property. The data collectors will be wearing identification badges and orange reflective vests to ensure their identification in person and/or on a video camera. They will knock 2x and if no one answers, they leave a placard on the door explaining that they were there and to call for an interior inspection, but they also do the exterior work at that time.
How will a reappraisal impact what I pay in property taxes?
Property taxes are based on property values. Without periodic reappraisals, some property owners would pay relatively more while others would pay relatively less. Reappraisal resets property values to their current market value so that the property tax burden is equalized for all taxpayers. Reappraisal assures every property owner they are only paying their fair share. However, appraisal and taxation are separate issues. The Assessor determines the market value, and the municipality and state tax rates have no impact on the valuation process. Each taxing authority establishes its own tax rate. Municipal tax rates are set based on the need to raise money for municipality highway and general fund expenses. The municipal rate is levied against the municipal grand list. The education tax rates are based on a homestead education tax rate and a non-homestead education tax rate which are set annually by the commissioner of taxes. The education tax rates are levied against all homestead and non-homestead parcels on the education grand list. Even if your assessment doubled, that does not mean your taxes would double.
The Town of Essex continues planning for a municipal-wide reappraisal of all real property in the Town of Essex (“Town”) and City of Essex Junction (“City”). The following is an update for all property owners.
On September 13, 2022, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was announced for bidding for local and regional reappraisal firms. The firms were given thirty (30) days to submit a proposal, and four (4) were received and subsequently reviewed for qualifications. After thorough review and upon approval by the Town of Essex Select board on December 5, 2022, the reappraisal contract was awarded to NEMC (New England Municipal Consultants) and Patriot Properties, Inc.
The reappraisal project is tentatively scheduled to begin in June 2023 and be completed by the end of June 2025.
The reappraisal process involves NEMC (New England Municipal Consultants) and Patriot Properties, Inc., the reappraisal vendor to be housed at the 81 Main Street office, to begin moving forward with the process. The Assessing Department will provide property owners with additional information pertaining to the project, as it develops.