Select Board unanimously denies tax-abatement request for 107 School Street

The Select Board voted to deny a tax-abatement request for the property at 107 School Street in Newport Center after a brief hearing on July 16. The Clerk opened the abatement hearing, identified the parcel (ID 00TH38007) and told the board that the owner currently owed $4,229.06 to cover the tax sale and accumulated water and sewer charges. The motion to deny abatement of "any taxes, fees, or penalties" was made by Select Board member Bob Hillacre and passed unanimously after members responded "aye."

Clerk said she would write the written denial next week and listed the board’s three primary reasons: "we could not verify the damage, we could not verify her financial status, and we could not get additional information from her." Board members raised questions about the owner’s absence, the lack of submitted FEMA documentation referenced in the owner’s claim, and the town’s longstanding precedent against granting abatements for inability to pay. The board’s decision means the tax-sale purchaser retains rights unless the owner redeems the property under the statutory redemption process.