ATHENS — I read this story, and the first thing I did was check the Vermont Assessors and Listers Association website to see if I had missed something.
Then I went to the Property Valuation and Review (PVR) website to see if there was important information from the state concerning a four-day seminar, and I checked Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
I found a two-day “town fair” that alternates between Essex and Killington. It is not mandatory to attend and is open to all city and town officials.
I do know that in the past few years, International Association of Assessing Officers courses have been offered for those who wish to go beyond being a lister and become a certified assessor. But these courses are not mandatory.
There are state-held classes every year for new listers, there are other classes/seminars/meetings held by PVR, VALA, VLCT, and NEMRC (New England Municipal Resource Center, the provider for a computer program used by many towns).
Why am I listing all these associations? Because I feel that the listers in Putney during this board meeting has not looked fully into the subject they were speaking about. I see more concern about mileage and costs of education than I do about the real subject at hand, which is having listers willing to learn their job through a variety of options that are open to them. (There are even webinars offered by NEMRC.)
Let's not forget that neither the town nor the listers bears the cost of education alone. The state also gives a stipend to each town solely for the purpose of lister education. No, it doesn't cover the costs completely, but it helps reduce it.
Finally, I put the question out to the Listserv for listers. Yep, if you are a lister and want to be in contact with many others doing this job and you have a computer, you can go on this group email list and put the question out there to your fellow Vermont listers. I got several responses not only from listers but also from the state.
So let's not panic, but remember that sometimes one person's view of what is going on and what may be really happening can be slightly different.
Not all the facts seem to have been known, and/or verified and/or presented to the Putney board, and not all the facts seem to have been researched by The Commons.
As listers, we know we can't always get it right - nobody can. I suggest looking again into the statements made at the meeting and speak with someone in any of the above-mentioned associations (or all of them), and then write another article showing what is really happening.