The Kingston Board of Assessors is moving to overhaul how the town calculates "new growth" revenue, aiming to eliminate a lag that currently allows some new homeowners to avoid full tax assessments for over a year. During Tuesday’s meeting, the board discussed a proposed warrant article for the upcoming Town Meeting that would shift the calculation from a calendar year to a fiscal year basis, capturing 18 months of growth in the transition.

Chair Holly Nighelli explained that the current system creates a confusing delay for those moving into newly constructed homes. The simplest way for a taxpayer to understand is: if I buy an existing house, I pay taxes right then and there, Nighelli said. But if I buy a new house closed on in April or May that started building in January, I might not pay full freight for 15 months until the following July. We have to get it caught up. Principal Assessor Valerie Massard noted that the change would simplify departmental operations, stating, It makes it so much easier to have everything on a single system.

The push for revenue efficiency comes as the town navigates a tightening fiscal landscape, with the Board of Selectmen maintaining a 3 percent budget growth cap for FY2027. To ensure accurate valuations, the board is also ramping up professional data collection. Massard alerted residents that representatives from Vision Appraisal are currently active throughout the community. We have data collectors out in the field and we will be having them out in the field for a couple of months, Massard said, adding that the Kingston Police are aware of the collectors and their vehicles. Motion Made by H. Nighelli to open the Board of Assessors meeting of Tuesday, May 12th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m. Motion Passed 3-0.

The complexity of modern commercial valuations prompted the board to review a new data collection contract for industrial properties. Nighelli described the difficulty of staff-led inspections for large businesses, citing a recent two-hour walk-through of a local CVS. The full basement was bananas. It would take you years to know what to look for in one of those offices, Nighelli said, concluding that the town must hire specialized professionals to handle such commercial accounts.

Financial housekeeping included the processing of a roll-back tax triggered by a property sale in its fourth year of ownership. Massard noted that the seller panicked when realizing they might lose money if the property wasn't handled correctly before the sale. The board also reviewed and signed off on various departmental invoices, including professional training for staff and reimbursement for data shipping. Board member Matt Penella raised concerns about maintaining a quorum during the summer months, suggesting that meetings later in June might prove difficult. The board ultimately settled on June 23 for their next session to avoid conflicts with Town Meeting wrap-up efforts.

The public session concluded as the board prepared to review sensitive taxpayer data. Motion Made by H. Nighelli to enter into executive session, not to return to open session, in order to comply with MGL Chapter 59, Section 60, to discuss exemption applications, the contents of which are confidential. Motion Passed 3-0.