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State of New Hampshire

Department of Revenue Administration
109 Pleasant Street
PO Box 487, Concord, NH 03302-0487
Telephone (603) 230-5000
www. revenue.nh.gav

MUNICIPAL AND PROPERTY

BIVISION
Lindsey M. Stepp Stephan W. Hamilton
Assistant Commissioner Director
February 26, 2018
John L. Griffin, Chief Financial Officer
City of Nashua
P.O. Box 2019

Nashua, NH 03061
Re: 2018 Reappraisal of Property Pursuant to RSA 75:8-a
Dear Mr. Griffin:

It was a pleasure for Charles Reese and | to meet with you, Mayor Donchess and staff, regarding the
above referenced duty of the City of Nashua (City) to, “... reappraise all real estate within the
municipality so that the assessments are at full and true value at least as often as every fifth year. . .”
(See RSA 75:8-a). This requirement in statute echo’s the duty in the New Hampshire Constitution, ”...
there shall be a valuation of the estates within the state taken anew once in every five years...” (See NH
Const, Pt. Il, Art. 6). The last year that the City made such a reappraisal was 2013, having an effective
date of value of April 1, 2013.

| understand that it is the long-term goal of the City to re-inspect all of the taxable property, as no such
widespread collection of data has occurred in a number of years. The City has been maintaining the
records of property description in other ways, including regular inspections of property for which
building permits are issued, as well as relying on other technology to detect and catalog changes. While
the records of the City describing properties may not be perfect, they have been found to meet
standards adopted by the NH Assessing Standards Board.

As | indicated at the meeting, there is no requirement that the City undertake a full measure and list
reassessment In order to meet the reappraisal requirement. An update of values relying on the current
property descriptions is an acceptable process of reappraisal, and will allow the City to meet its
statutory duty. If the City desires, additional inspections or a full measure and list revaluation could be
scheduled ina future year, but that future activity cannot be a substitute for the reappraisal that is
required for Tax Year 2018.

I thank you for your courtesy, and | stand ready to answer any additional questions that you might have.

Stephan W. Hamilton, Director

Cc: File

Page 3 of 14
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Equalization Ratio

“Equalization is the process by which the
New Hampshire Department of Revenue
Administration makes adjustments to
each municipality’s locally assessed
values to calculate the estimated 100%
value of the municipality”

Page 4 of 14

Assessed Value

Current Assessed Value Preliminary Future
Tax Year 2017 Assessed Value
Tax Year 2018
$6.6
$5.3
$3.2 $3.4

Residential C&I Residential C&I
ER = .80 ER = .93 ER = 1.00 ER = 1.00

Page 5 of 14
*Dollar amounts in Billions

Property Taxes

Assumed Property Assumed Property
Taxes - $200 Million Taxes - $200 Million
Tax Year 2017 Tax Year 2018

$132
$124.8

$75.2
$68

Residential C&l Residential C&I

Page 6 of 14
*Dollar amounts in Millions

Appraisal Company

KRT Appraisal, Haverhill Massachusetts
Ken Rodgers, CMA, President
Rob Tozier, CMA, Vice President

Page 7 of 14

Standards for a Statistical
Revaluation

¢ Purpose of the Statistical Revaluation is to maintain
assessment equity

¢ Assessment Date is April 1, 2018

¢ Sales used in analysis occur between April 1, 2017
and March 31, 2018

° Median assessment ratio must be between .90 and
1.1

° Coefficient of Dispersion must be less than 20%

° price Related Differential must be between 0.98 and

Page 8 of 14

Approaches to Value

Market Approach (Analysis of Sales)
Cost Approach (Building Value + Land Value)

Income Approach (Commercial/Industrial)

Page 9 of 14

Measurements of Equity

Assessment Ratio

The relationship of an assessed value to its sale
price. For example, if the assessed value of a piece
of real estate is $200,000 and it sold for $250,000,
the assessment ratio would be 0.80 or 80%.

Median Ratio

The middle ratio in a sorted (low to high) array of
sales ratios. Half of the ratios are above the
median and half are below the median. The
median ratio is the most widely used measurement
as it is less influenced by outliers.

Page 10 of 14

Measurements of Equity

Coefficient of Dispersion (COD)
Measures the uniformity of assessments by measuring
the average percentage deviation from the median ratio.
The lower the COD, the more uniform the ratios within
the property group.

Price-Related Differential (PRD)

Tests for appraisal equity between lower and higher
value properties or price-related bias. A PRD below 1.00
tend to indicate assessment progressivity, the condition
which assessment ratios increase with price. A PRD
above 1.00 tends to indicate regressivity, in which
assessment ratios decline with price. The PRD is
calculated by dividing the mean ratio by the weighted
mean.

Page 11 of 14

32, There were numerous questions on the payment of incentives and coordination with Eversource
on adjustment of utility bills, etc. It sounded like the City would be handling all of this. In other
words, the contractor is just providing pricing and services to audit and convert the system. All
energy calculations, incentives, coordination with Eversource, etc. will be done by the
City. Please confirm.

a. The City will handie the Energy Rebate Incentive (the Contractor will provide all
necessary documentation to the City for Incentive Submittal). However, the Contractor
is responsible for reporting “fixture change outs” to Eversource. Please see #2 on
SCHEDULE D. If a municipality opts to hire a vendor to install new LED fixtures, what are
the requirements for that vendor to be allowed to install them on our system?” in the
attached “SCHEDULE D — RATE EOL LED FAQ.” There is specific language relating to the
vendor’s responsibilities in reporting to Eversource.

33. Please provide an actual copy of the lighting inventory, further than the one on page 6. In

Excel, please.
a. The Eversource Street Light Ledger is attached as part of this addendum,

34, There was talk about the City reserves the right to choose the color of the fixture housings
depending on the street. Please provide a quantity and color breakdown, as different colored
fixtures may have cost implications.

a. We do not have exact quantities of the existing lights by color. Roadway lighting will be
gray in color. Decorative fixtures will be replaced with the existing color (typically black).

35. Please confirm, in the areas where there are decorative fixtures, that retro-fit kits are not

allowed.
a. The City does not want retrofit kits.

36. There was confusion on whether Eversource wants the lamp and/or fixtures back. Please
confirm if this is required. If we are to return the fixtures/lamps to Eversource, please outline
how and where this is to happen. If we are to deliver fixtures/lamps, does Eversource provide
the vessel in which they are transported?

a. Please see the answer to #15 above.

37. Please provide the prevailing wage schedules for this project.
a. There isn’t a prevailing wage for this project.

38. Please provide the last 12 months of the City’s streetlight energy bills.
a. The City does not feel this is necessary.

39. Is there a specific brand or type of LED light you want?
a. There is no specific brand the City wants.

40. The 4000K that you now have- who is the manufacture?
a. Main Street LEDs: King Luminaire.
b. Broad Street Parkway LEDs: Decoratives are Hadco; Cobraheads are Leotech.

RFPO609-031116 Addendum 1- City of Nashua LED Street Lighting Conversion Project Page 5 of 6

229 Main Street » Nashua, New Hampshire O3060 ¢ Phone (603) 589-3330 « Fax (603) 589-3344