Lawsuit list tops 500

The list of Barrington residents named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the town council, town manager, tax assessor, director of finance and the town itself has grown to more than 500. And for those keeping score at home, the group spearheading the lawsuit, Barrington for Equitable Taxes, has reportedly bankrolled more than $165,000 for the legal battle.

Residents sue the town

Is anyone surprised that the lawsuit is official? On Friday, more than 400 Barrington residents sued the town over the recent revaluation, but most people have been talking about the "pending litigation" since the first reval meeting was posted months ago. The details of the suit fall in line with the arguments previously stated by folks angry with the assessments — the plaintiffs want Vision's work thrown out, the town to do another reval and for all incidentals and legal costs to be paid for by the town. It appears that residents from every neighborhood in Barrington are involved in the suit.

At least we didn't have to hire extra police

The townwide revaluation in Barrington has been contentious at times, but at least it hasn't gotten violent. According to Associated Press article posted on May 18, the Bedford (Pa.) County Commissioners requested armed sheriff's deputies stand guard while residents wait for their hearings on property reassessments. The extra security was brought in after some people — not the property owners themselves — allegedly tried to interrupt hearings a week earlier. The article states that only the property owners may attend the hearings unless the people are invited by the property owners.

Reval group has no plans for FTM

The recent revaluation and the upcoming Financial Town Meeting in Barrington share some commonalities, but an organized attendance by the group "Barrington for Equitable Taxes" will not be one of them. According to one of the group's members, BET is not organizing any presentation for the big town meeting set for May 27 at Barrington High School, and the group is not taking a stand on any of the budget issues. The member said the group has one singular focus: the reval.

It's official, reval lawsuits are on the way

Residents warned that the town would face litigation over the recent revaluation, and they were right. On Monday, May 11, attorney William Landry offered an official statement regarding potential lawsuits stemming from the reval. In short, the litigation is on its way. Officially, here is what he wrote: “BET has authorized its counsel to begin preparing suit papers challenging the Vision Appraisal Co. statistical revaluation update of Barrington properties as of December 31, 2008. Several dozen taxpayers have asked to join the suit, with additional plaintiffs making similar requests each day. The suit will proceed in part on a class basis; will challenge the legality of any tax assessments and certifications that are based on the Vision Appraisal statistical revaluation update; and will seek relief requiring a corrective Town-wide re-assessment having retroactive application, plus ancillary damages and legal fees. The thrust of the plaintiffs’ claims are that the Vision Appraisal revaluation systemically failed to comply with legal requirements that tax assessments (1) reflect the full and fair cash values of properties assessed, or a uniform percentage thereof; and (2) fairly distribute the burden of the property taxation among taxpayers. Subject to the approval of the representatives of the plaintiff class, the suit is expected to be filed later this month."

BET prepping for litigation

Just received a new letter to the editor from the group Barrington for Equitable Taxes. It looks like they're getting ready to file suit against the town — I'm hearing it will be official in about two weeks — over the Vision revaluation. BET members had hinted at litigation during the March 12 and April 23 meetings, but now they're asking for any interested residents to contact them in regards to the suit. So now we'll have residents paying money to sue the town, which will use taxpayers' money to battle the issue in court...

Lawyer's letters question Vision's qualification

I have copies of the letters the attorney for Barrington for Equitable Taxes sent to the town regarding the reval. In a nutshell, the letters say Vision Appraisal broke state law because it didn't have any appraisers certified in Rhode Island working for them when they conducted the reval, and it also says Vision violated the contract with the town. William Landry, the attorney for BET, does a better job explaining it. See for yourself — March 26 letter, April 2 letter.

Marathon meeting ends in frustration

If you're like me, you sat for more than five hours in the Barrington High School auditorium last Thursday night and left a little punch drunk. As soon as the meeting ended, we started hearing the anger and frustration from Barrington residents. Most people felt the town council ignored them and had their minds made up well in advance. People have told me the five-hour meeting was a waste of time.
What do you think?