The Kingston Board of Assessors met to review the final steps of the town’s tax rate certification process. Assessing Director Maureen O’Reilly informed the board that the necessary recap documentation was submitted to the state on Monday following a review by the town clerk and finance director. While the Department of Revenue has already returned with clarifying questions, officials remain optimistic about the timeline. O’Reilly noted that the office is currently running tests on the billing system, stating, Tara has been working the last day and a half on billing, filling it in test and working with Ken using the tax rate that we think it's going to be the same tax rate. 12.82 is what we submitted. We'll see what happens after it's all calculated, but should be right around that.

The board also reviewed the benefits of utilizing outside technical expertise to manage the complexities of the Munis software system. Chair Steve praised the efficiency of consultant Randy Mercer, who recently assisted the office in navigating personal property data issues. Steve emphasized the value of professional support during the busy recap season, remarking, His ability to just go all over that application seamlessly... quickly his knowledge of it is just crazy. If they didn't have him, there's no way it would have got down.

A significant portion of the meeting focused on a proposal to adopt Chapter 653, Section 40, a local option that would allow the town to capture "new growth" tax revenue from construction completed between January and June. Currently, Kingston’s valuation date is fixed at January 1, meaning improvements made in the first half of the year often go untaxed for over a year. Steve expressed a desire to bring this to the spring town meeting, noting, I wanted the board to actually review and potentially make a motion to have it put on to town meeting for this coming spring.

Board member Ken questioned why the town had not adopted the measure previously, given that it has been available since 1989. He suggested that data from building permits could help justify the change to voters. Ken observed, It seemed to me that it wouldn't be too hard to look at building permits and see what the town has missed out on... if you want to make an argument to see what that number is. The board agreed to review further information on the provision before their next meeting.

Before moving into a closed session, the board reviewed routine bills and motor vehicle excise commitments. Motion Made by Steve to enter into executive session not to return to open session in order to comply with MGL chapter 59 section 60 to discuss exemption abatement applications the contents of which are not public record. Vote Passed 2-0