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Failure Measured. Accountability Ordered. Plaintiffs proven right. Full revaluation ordered on the town of Hampton
- NH Muckraker
- 3 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) has formally concluded that the Town’s assessing system is fundamentally failing, citing a 2023 Assessing Review Report score of just 42% — the lowest in the state — and ordering a mandatory, town-wide property revaluation by the 2028 tax year. THE TOWN OF HAMPTON From 95% to 42%: Who Let the Property Tax System Crash and Burn?
While the Board acknowledged recent attempts by the Town to improve its assessing practices, it found those efforts insufficient after reviewing the full record, including prior orders, analyses, and the Town’s continued lack of a meaningful reassessment plan. The BTLA specifically noted the Town ignored state recommendations to complete a reassessment earlier and failed to adequately respond to the serious deficiencies identified in the 2023 review.
The ordered revaluation will require a complete overhaul of the assessment system — including inspections of all neighborhoods, correction of land value modifiers, review of condominium coding, and creation of entirely new land and building valuation models — with strict reporting requirements imposed through 2028 to ensure compliance.
Importantly, the plaintiffs in Barnes-Player v. Town have been warning Town leadership about these exact failures for months, repeatedly presenting the same concerns and supporting evidence to the Board of Selectmen dating back to November 2024. The BTLA’s findings now formally validate what the plaintiffs argued all along: that systemic assessment problems were known, documented, and raised publicly long before the State was forced to intervene and order a full revaluation.
FROM THE BTLA REASSESSMENT ORDER
The board of tax and Land Appeals acknowledges the Towns recent actions to improve the work product of the assessing department and encourages the town to continue its process.
However, based on the entire record, including the petition, analyses in the order and the reassessment order, the results of the 2023 assessing review report (ARR), the board orders a complete revaluation no later than for the 2028 tax year. The full 2028 revaluation requires visiting all neighborhoods delineations, land value modifiers, condominium codes and factors, and the creation of new land and building assessment models.\
The board considered the Towns lack of reassessment plans, the lack of response to the 2023 ARR, and the fact the town did not accept MRIs recommendation to compete the 2024 reassessment a year earlier.
2028 will allow the town 3 summers to visit and inspect properties. It must comply with applicable statutes and admin rules.
The town shall notify the board in writing beginning 9.1.26 and every 6 months after through Dec 2027. Starting January 2028, a report every 3 months until the reassessment is complete. When signed and approved by the dept of revenue, the town shall forward a copy of its contract with the assessing firm hired to implement the reassessment order."
Now let's go back to what Barnes-Player said in 2023.
