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Audit Objective

Determine whether the Assessor properly administered select real property tax exemptions.

Key Findings

We reviewed properties with 108 agricultural, non-profit and not-for-profit, senior citizen, veteran and other exemptions.

The Assessor:

• Granted exemptions without applications, renewal forms or supporting documentation.
• Granted an ineligible exemption and did not correctly calculate granted exemptions.
• Did not report the transfer of property with exemptions to the County as required.

The Board:

• Did not establish, by local law or resolution, one granted exemption.

Key Recommendations

The Assessor should:

• Ensure granted exemptions are authorized, supported, accurately calculated and continue to meet eligibility requirements.
• Report the transfer of property with exemptions to the County to ensure the new owner is billed for the prorated share of taxes.

The Board should:

• Ensure all exemptions are established by local law or resolution.

Town officials generally agreed with our recommendations and indicated they planned to initiate corrective action.