Board questions well valuation

SUMNER — A property-owner who is unhappy with the value that has been assessed on his land prompted a discussion among town leaders about whether the town-wide revaluation should be modified.

The Peters property on U1, Lot 18 has been found to have a "grade 3" site improvement for a feature that includes a driven-point well.

A driven-point well is created by driving a pipe into the ground to access water, a method that is considerably less expensive than drilling.

"He's one of the properties in the village that has a driven-point," said Administrative Assistant Cynthia Norton, who had reviewed the case. "... He's being assessed for a grade 3 site improvement to his property, which generally is a a dug or a drilled-well septic system."

The difference between a grade 3 and a grade 2 is approximately $8,000, which translates to nearly $150 in property taxes.

"There are a number of properties that neighbor him and around the corner that have grade 2," said Norton.

While the higher grade is generally associated with a drilled well, Norton noted that other factors come into play.

"It's also the appearance of the yard," said Norton. "It's more than just what you have for well and septic system."

If the board attempted to modify the schedule of assessments, it could change the value of many town properties.

Making a hard-and-fast rule that divided driven-point, and drilled wells into grades 2 and 3, respectively, would affect many existing valuations.

The board also discussed the possibility of creating an individual factor, which would give some set weight to the driven-point well, but this would also affect the valuations of many town properties.

"We're all in a search for consistency, because we need to have reason," said Selectman Mark Silber. "We need to discuss this with O'Donnell so that we can see what his consideration is."

The valuation was conducted by assessing firm, John E. O’Donnell & Associates, and has generally been considered to be a well-executed project.

The board resolved to get input from O'Donnell before taking any action on the matter.