Budget Review Committee Meeting on Assessing Update – March 19, 2026
Budget Review Committee Meeting – March 19, 2026
The Budget Review Committee met on Thursday, March 19, 2026, at 7 p.m. in the Aldermanic Chamber to receive an update on the Assessing Department from consultant Steve Hamilton (Whitney Consulting Group) and Assessing Manager Michelle Welch. The discussion covered staffing challenges, the status of the city's revaluation schedule, exemptions and credits, and future plans for software conversion and LITEC property assessments. No public comment was taken as no action items were on the agenda. The meeting adjourned at 8 p.m.
Discussion Items
- Assessing Department Staffing Update: Steve Hamilton explained that the city retained Whitney Consulting Group in early 2024 after a large disruption in the assessing department (multiple departures). The focus has been on filling administrative roles and using contracted services to bridge gaps. Currently, the department has five staff members, with one retiring at the end of April and an offer made for an Assessor I (entry-level) position. The biggest challenge is the statewide shortage of certified assessors, especially at the Assessor Supervisor level (requiring five years of experience and certification). Hamilton noted that the department aims to hire a certified assessor in the coming year to divide the workload, but commercial assessors are particularly scarce.
- Revaluation Schedule: Director Tim Cummings (Administrative Services) reported that the city will not conduct a revaluation in 2026. Reasons include a slowing market (less appreciation), the city's contractor being fully booked, and the need to convert to a new appraisal software system (Vision) in 2027, which requires six months of preparation. The next revaluation is tentatively planned for 2028. Cummings emphasized that the city is statutorily compliant (last reval was in 2024) and that the goal is to move toward more regular revaluations. Alderman Kelly expressed surprise at the delay, and Cummings confirmed that the public will be notified via tax bills that no reassessment is occurring this year.
- Exemptions and Credits: Alderman Clemens (joined by Aldermen Johnson and O'Brien) expressed disappointment that Bob Gagney (Whitney Consulting) was not present to present a planned report on best practices for exemptions and credits. She has been working on legislation to automatically increase veterans' credits based on CPI and to tie exemptions to assessment changes. Steve Hamilton discussed general best practices: indexing benefit amounts to property value increases, regularly reviewing income/asset qualification thresholds, and using inflation indicators like CPI. He agreed that the concept of automating adjustments is good but noted implementation would likely coincide with the next revaluation. Alderman Clemens asked that a full board discussion on exemption practices be scheduled.
- Staffing Challenges and Creative Solutions: Alderman Senate suggested a model similar to the DPW agreement that allows hiring without full licensure and provides a year to obtain it. Hamilton explained that entry-level assessor positions (measurer and lister) require no prior certification, but higher-level positions require certification by law. Director Cummings validated the idea, noting that the shortage is a statewide issue. Alderman Kelly asked about salaries and competitiveness; Welch noted that most positions are union-contracted, so salaries are set by contract, and the recent salary study did not apply to the assessing department (except for the unaffiliated manager).
- Future Agenda Items: Director Cummings announced he would like to return in a few weeks to discuss how the city assesses LITEC (low-income tax credit) properties, particularly regarding pilot payments and a relevant RSA. Chairman Dowd suggested that this topic be presented to the full Board of Aldermen rather than the Budget Committee, as it is a policy matter. Cummings agreed to coordinate with the City Clerk.
Key Outcomes
- No votes or formal actions were taken.
- The city will not conduct a revaluation in 2026; the next revaluation is expected in 2028 after software conversion.
- The Assessing Department will continue to use a combination of city staff and contracted services to address the staffing shortage.
- A future full Board of Aldermen meeting will be scheduled to discuss LITEC property assessments and the RSA tool.
- Alderman Clemens will work with the board to schedule a separate discussion on exemption and credit best practices.
Meeting Transcript
He's ready. Okay, I'd like to call a meeting of the budget review committee to order. It's Thursday, March 19th, 2026 at 7 p.m. in the aldermatic chamber. And we are duly noticed in two places, including the city's website in accordance with the requirements of RSA 91-A colon 2 2. Would the clerk please call the roll? Alderman Paula Johnson. Alderman Derek Teavo. Here. Alderman at large Alicia Greg. Here, I am at home under the web. But I can hear everybody and nobody, there's nobody in the room. Alderman at large, Hosana Kelly. I'm here. Alderman at large Michael O'Brien Sr. is present. Alderman Tim Senate, the vice chair. I'm here. And Alderman Richard A. Dowd, Chairman. Present. Okay, you have one, two, three, four, five. Six present, and you have a quorum. Also in attendance is Mr. Tim Cummings, administrative service director. He is also online. Michelle Welsh, the assessing manager, and Mr. Steve Hamilton. Also, for Alderman in attendance is Alderman Trish Clay. Okay. Even though it's on the agenda, we will not have any public comment at the beginning because there is no action being taken on anything this evening. So now we have a discussion this evening on an accessing update. I'll let uh Director Cummings introduce our speaker. Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And for the record, Tim Cummings Director of Administrative Services. And first, let me uh apologize for not being in person. I had a family issue arise that I had to home for this evening. So thank you for allowing me to participate via via Zoom. With that being chairman, this evening, uh I pleasure to introduce uh not just uh Michelle Welch, our uh assessing manager, but our consultant who we retained a couple of years ago to help us in the assessing department, uh Steve Hamilton of uh Whitney Consulting Group and him and and his colleague Bob Gagney and Bob couldn't be with us this evening. Um have led the assessing office over the last year, a year and a half or so, and I thought it would move us to have them come before, give you just a general update, talk a little bit about uh best practices within the assessing industry, maybe sketch out a little bit about a vision for move the assessing department in the city of Nashua forward, talk about whatever relative relevant uh hot topics there there may be within within assessing. Uh this would be just a good hygiene type issue for us, as I thought uh the board would would welcome a discussion with our as they don't appear before you do before appear before the board of assessors uh more regularly. So thought this once a year type check-in would be would be a good thing. So at this mr mr. Chairman, I think it'd be a good uh good opportunity for me to hand it over to uh Steve, who who should be able to lead the discussion, and of course I'm here to assist the lawn board. Steve Michelle, if you want to take a seat and be more comfortable. Uh or who's gonna start up. I uh let Steve start. Okay.
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