Description: Rich Baker is a candidate for re-election to the West Newbury Board of Assessors, in the June 3rd Town Election.
rich baker richard baker west newbury board of assessors 2020 (1)
West Newbury has one of the best assessing departments in Essex County, and I am proud of my service with this assessing team over the past six years. The Assessing Department is dedicated to transparency, competence, and fairness.
In each of the past few years, the Assessors have held two or three workshops, typically in November, on reducing taxes for the citizens of West Newbury. In addition, the assessors staffed a table at Town Meeting with various forms for reducing property taxes. The Assessors web page has increased the information to taxpayers about how taxes are determined, including the property record cards for each property in town. This allows taxpayers to see how everyone's taxes are calculated.
Over the years, the number of abatements and the size of abatements have been among the lowest in Essex County. The audits of West Newbury valuations by the Commonwealth have shown few if any issues each year. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue specifically reviews the property valuations of the Town Selectmen and Assessors to make sure that officials are not given special treatment. Over the six years that I have been on the Board of Assessors, the average town valuation of existing homes has increa