Vermont property owners not satisfied with the assessed value of their properties may request a grievance hearing with the board of listers and may further appeal the listers’ decision to the town’s Board of Civil Authority (BCA). This training reviews the fundamental concepts of property tax assessment as well as the legal requirements and best practices for lister grievance and BCA appeal hearings. A mock BCA hearing provides legal requirements, best practices in action and possible scenarios.

The role of zoning administrator (ZA) can vary from town to town, but Vermont law defines the standard minimum duties each must fulfill. This session covers the source, scope, and limits of those statutory duties. The speaker, a former ZA himself, provides information on other zoning administrator responsibilities and special issues that ZAs may encounter. This foundational training is most useful for new zoning administrators but is also a valuable refresher for veterans. 

Each year, as municipal budgets grow and sources of revenue become more diverse, the task of auditing municipal financial records becomes more difficult. Current Vermont law doesn’t require locally elected auditors to have any education or experience in bookkeeping or accounting. This training will provide an overview of legal requirements of the annual elected auditors’ report as well as information to help elected auditors fulfill their responsibilities under Vermont law.