NOT a newbie

[Rich(VT)]

Hi Ben,

I am about 30-40 minutes north or Barnard. I get down there once in a while for an appraisal. It's a nice area.

I had to chuckle about the ice. When my wife & I were dating we drove by Woodbury Lake one Sunday afternoon in Feb. It happened that no one was on the ice that day. I drove to the boat launch, stopped the car and told her to tighten her seat belt and hang on...we're going for a ride on the ice (I really played it up). I also told her to keep her hand on the window crank-just in case.

I got on the ice and did a few donuts...needless to say she wasn't amused or impressed....

As far as the sticks, we have to put them up every year to mark the guard rails and culverts. Never know how much snow we will get and sometimes that is the only way to find them to avoid getting stuck or hitting them. All the people who live along the road are responsible for "their area" to erect and maintain the sticks. If you don't maintain your area and a plow truck gets stuck, or wacks off a guard rail, you might end up paying the tow or guard rail replacement bill.

Rich in VT

 

[Ben Vukicevich SRA]

Rich,

I was wondering how all those sticks got put-up, back in the "sticks." Now I know. I had this vision of a Johnny Appleseed type-guy who wandered the back hills of Vermont, chopping switches and placing them at every bend in the road, then working his way back and picking them up by Spring. :roll:

I was always impressed by the mail boxes on pull chains- so you can keep raising them up out of the snow....damn tall mailmen in Vermont.

Actually, I won my first out-of-state tax appeal on my father-in-law's cabin in Barnard. I always liked the name of the elected officials there. I think they are called selectmen, if I remember correctly. Made lots of trips to Bethel to buy lumber and supplies to refit the cabin too.

Ben

 

[Rich(VT)]

Ben,

I haven't been a selectman (politicaly correct--->selectperson) as of yet. I haven't run for it.

I cut my teeth on the REAL political scene in Vermont-I ran for, and won, the elected position known as "Lister".

For all the flatlanders reading this, a lister in Vermont is the property tax assessor.

Here's how it works up here:

One of your very good friends (in my case it was the town clerk), mentions that you would be good as a lister, being that you are in the real estate business and all that.

Your good friend (the town clerk) really butters you up about how much you know about property, how good you would be in the lister position (most listers are part time in VT), etc.

After thinking about it for a while you decide that "yea, I WOULD be good at this."

You fill out the papers required for signatures, and sure enough, you get enough signatures to get on the ballot for town meeting day. (that's where we all meet to vote on the town's budget, school budget, town expenditure authorizations for the year, elected officials, etc.).

You go to town meeting, and of course you vote while there.

You also look at the ballot to see who you are running against.

There's no other names on the ballot. First clue this might not have been the smartest thing you have ever done.

You step out of the voting booth, you're not even elected yet, and already some of your friends and neighbors come up and tell you they want to grieve their assessment because their taxes are too high because the last lister was a jerk who didn't know anything about real estate. (we can safely define this as clue #2).

Clue three-the first hour on the job your good friend (the town clerk) says to you "man, am I glad you decided to take on this lister's position. I am getting sick and tired of listening to P.O. off taxpayers. Can I give them your home phone number for when you are not here?"

Ben, if you want to learn the true meaning of town politics,
-if you want to find out who has done home renovations without permits
-if you want to find out who really has it in for who
-if you want to find out who has more acres than the assessment calls for
-if you want to find out who "overpaid for the house they just purchased"
-and if you want to find out who your friends are, (or formerly were),

start out in the tax assessment department.

Rich in VT
Lister (former town clerk's friend)