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Board of Civil Authority

Board of Civil Authority and Justices of the Peace

The Board of Civil Authority is a quasi-judicial 21 member board consisting of fifteen Justices of the Peace, the City Council members and the City Clerk. The Board’s duties are serving as an election official and assisting on Election Day and sitting on tax appeals and serving as a members of the board of tax abatement. Meetings are held on an as needed basis after being duly warned by the clerk.

The Board of Abatement consists of the City Council, Justices of the Peace, Assessor, Treasurer and City Clerk. The meetings are a quasi-judicial proceedings that falls under the open meeting law 1 V.S.A. § 312. Tax Abatements are not tax appeals. There are no deadlines for an abatement request. They must be a written request sent to the City Clerk and the Board has no deadline on when to hear them. A taxpayer is not required to attend the meeting but is encouraged to do so. The Board will consider the request whether or not the taxpayer is at the meeting.

Abatement requests must meet the following criteria per 24 V.S.A. §1535(a)

  • taxes of persons who have died insolvent;
  • taxes of persons who have removed from the state;
  • taxes of persons who are unable to pay their taxes, interest, and collection fees;
  • taxes in which there is a manifest error or a mistake of the listers
  • taxes upon real or personal property lost or destroyed during the tax year;
  • the exemption amount available under 32 V.S.A. §3802(11) to persons otherwise eligible for exemption who file a claim on or after May 1 but before October 1 due to the claimant’s sickness or disability or other good cause as determined by the board of abatement; but that exemption amount shall be reduced by 20 of the total exemption for each month or portion of a month the claim was filed late.
  • taxes upon a mobile home moved from the town during the tax year as a result of a change in use of the mobile home park land or parts thereof, or closure of the mobile home park in which the mobile home was sited, pursuant to 10 V.S.A. §6237

Abatement Hearing Request Form

Justices of the Peace

    

Name

Address

Phone number

Email

Performs Marriages?

Kelly McCutcheon Adams

7 Kings Court

802-999-7345

kamcc71@ yahoo.com

Yes

Andrew Brown

35 Brickyard Rd #6802-598-8162abrown@ essexjunction.orgYes

Marcus Certa

2 Hiawatha Avenue

802-829-1322

marcuscerta@ gmail.com

Yes

Rajan Chawla

21 Warner Ave

802-578-7466

raj@ rajchawla.com

No

Diane Clemens

15 Williams St

802-238-0510

dianeclemens06@ gmail.com

Yes

Cheri Davis

147 Main St

802-503-7025

cheri.davis@ cheridavisnotarypublic.com

Yes

Dylan Giambatista

12 Arlington St

802-734-8841

vtdylan@ gmail.com

Yes

Elaine Haney

25 Dunbar Dr

802-324-2546

elaine.haney62@ gmail.com

Yes

Ryan McLaren

38 Drury Drive

860-235-9095

ryan.d.mclaren@ gmail.com

Yes

Patrick Murray

15 Briar Lane

802-598-9859

patrick.murray.vt@ gmail.com

Yes

Deja Murray

15 Briar Lane

802-399-9804ariannae@ gmail.com

Yes

Gibson Smith

4 Hiawatha Ave

802-343-7523

gibsonsmith@ yahoo.com

No

Dennis Thibeault

9 Nahma Ave

802-878-1015

dbt@ aol.com

Yes

Carmon Verasamy

4 Juniper Ridge Rd

360-280-2962

carmonvvtdem@ gmail.com

No

Upcoming Meetings

Access upcoming meeting documents by clicking on the meeting.

  • Board of Civil Authority 10/15/2024

    The Essex Junction Board of Civil Authority will hold a meeting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. This hybrid meeting will be held remotely using the ZOOM meetings platform and in person at the City Offices at 2 Lincoln St., Essex Junction. The agenda has been posted to the City website. 

    Oct15 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM