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The Town of Colchester is completing a town-wide reappraisal that has been mandated under Vermont State law. Following a notice from the State that the Town’s Common Level of Assessment dipped below the 85% legal threshold, the Town contracted with the professional appraisal services company, Vision Government Solutions (Vision). Vision has been working closely with the Town Assessor’s office to complete the reappraisal of Colchester’s roughly 7,250 parcels since January 2025.

Whenever a municipality conducts a town-wide reappraisal, all assessed values in town are adjusted to reflect their current Fair Market Value. The tax rate is then set such that what is collected by the Town is equal to the property tax total included in the voter-approved budget.

If a property’s assessment is less than or equal to the average assessment increase, then the municipal services taxes on that parcel will decrease or may not significantly change from the prior year—beyond the increase caused by the voter approved municipal services budget. If a property’s assessment increases greater than the average increase, then the municipal services taxes on that property will increase—beyond what the increase in the voter approved municipal services budget caused. Likewise, if a property’s assessment decreases greater than the average, then the municipal services taxes on that property will decrease—but for the increase the voter approved budget would have caused. State Education Taxes, which the State requires the Town to collect on its behalf are governed by a formula determined by the State.

On May 18, 2026, Vision mailed out preliminary assessment change notices to all taxable property owners. These notices are informational only and are not the official change of assessment.

Property owners wishing to learn more about their preliminary assessment may review the parcel may call 1-888-844-4300 to schedule an appointment for an informational meeting with a representative of Vision. Informational meetings will be offered over the phone or in person. In person informational meetings will be held during weekdays at Town Hall (781 Blakely Road) in the Outer Bay Room on the 3rd floor, from 9:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. May 20, 2026, through June 3, 2026.

Once Vision completes all scheduled informational meetings, the Town will mail the official Change of Assessment Notices as well as post the Grand List and updated property assessment data on the Town Assessor’s Web page (https://colchestervt.gov/149/Assessor). After the official notices are mailed, property owners who have additional questions, or wish to grieve their new assessment, can contact the Town Assessor’s Office by emailing colchesterAssess@colchestervt.gov or by calling (802) 264-5670.