Finance Committee - 06/16/2021 Page 11
Chairman Harriott-Gathright
Do you want to provide comments?
Laura Colquhoun
That is my comment. You people are wasting my time and every other resident’s time. Thank you.
Chairman Harriott-Gathright
You're welcome.
Laurie Ortolano
Laurie Ortolano — 41 Berkeley Street. First of all | want to give you a heads up. You know Attorney Bolton did some nice
soft shoe bull crap for you. The order did come down from the BTLA and when he said it’s usually somewhere in
between, he backed an appraiser who went up to the BTLA and set the market value for 2019 at $800,000. They wanted
the assessment on my house at $710,000 when equalized. The Board of Tax and Land Appeals set it at 577. The city
would have upped my tax bill a couple grand. The Board of Tax and Land Appeal basically dropped my tax bill a couple
grand. So it was a very big difference. Not so much an in between and I'll tell you, it was a total waste of money and time
with a vindictive legal office and Mayor that had to pick a fight. You probably spent $100,000 on that.
As far as your overlay budget, it’s secretive, sneaky and not transparent. Fix it and make it transparent because right now
all of these settlements are handled in nonpublic session and not put out for the public to hear, or see, or get a copy of.
We don't even know when to ask for them. I’m going to start submitting a revolving every two week Right-to-Know to get
those settlements and anyone who wants to complain that the 24 Right-to-Knows | file a year can stick it where the sun
don’t shine because this is the way you want it. Create some transparency for us.
The other thing is that sheet is not updated and every one of you should be asking why are we doing 2018 appraisals in
2021. You are now hiring an appraisal guy who has to go back and try to create a market value from three years ago.
Why doesn’t that sheet show 2020 appraisals that need to be done for all these abatements that have been filed in 2020?
| think Attorney Bolton is not laying out truthfully to you. | think there’s going to be a lot more money to spend. | think you
should know that right now. You know this is not really right and that list is not updated. Some of those have already
settled. Give us updated material because it’s the only way the public can follow. Thank you.
Excuse me was | heard or was | off the air. | can’t even tell?
Chairman Harriott-Gathright
You were heard very clearly.
Laurie Ortolano
Thank you, okay.
REMARKS BY THE ALDERMEN
Alderwoman Lu
Thank you. | would just like to say | know the overlay is not in the budget book but it is an asset account and the charges
to the overlay are found in the record of expenditures every two weeks when they come out. It’s usually the first item on
the record of expenditures but it’s not a budgeted...
Steve Bolton, Corporation Counsel
| can clarify this if you wish Madam Chair.
Chairman Harriott-Gathright
Yes thank you Corporate Counsel.
