Board of Abatement Meeting Minutes 12.17.24 at 5:45 pm

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On Dec 12/17/24, the Board of Abatement met to consider a request for abatement of penalty
and interest on the late property taxes for Parcel # 724, property owner Leyla Schimmel. The
meeting was held at the Guilford Town Office, located at 236 School Road, and was accessible
via Zoom.

The taxpayer attended via Zoom to present her testimony.
The BOA members present, either physically or via Zoom were: Total 11 – meets quorum
requirement.
Roberta Bremmer (JP) Todd Mandell (JP) Don McLean (JP
Stephen Soszynski (Lister) Richard Smith (Lister) Chip Carter (SB)
Doug Hunt (JP) Cathi Wilken (JP) Anna Klein (JP) zoom
Lori Nelson (JP) Elly Majonen (TR, TC) Mike Szostak (SB)

Meeting was called to order at 5:45 pm.
Elect Board of Civil Authority Chair/Vice Chair – Motion to elect Don McLean as Chair by Richard
Smith, seconded by Roberta Bremmer. Voice vote, all in favor, motion carried. Motion to elect
Anna Klein by Don McLean as Vice-Chair, seconded by Chip Carter. Voice vote, all in favor,
motion carried.
The Chair identified the applicant – Leyla Schimmel, 647 Lakeridge Rd, Guilford, VT 05301,
parcel# 724.
The Chair address numbers needed for a quorum – we have a quorum.
The Chair asked if there were any witnesses besides the applicant. Review of a witness defined.
Ms Schimmel had no witnesses present on her behalf.
Ms. Schimmel took the oath.
The Chair asked attendees of any possible conflicts of interest – There were no conflicts of
interest noted.

The Chair asked the applicant to identify the statutory abatement category that the abatement
request is being made under. These categories are set out at 24 V.S.A. § I535 (a) (1)-(9).
Ms. Schimmel identified the following saying that she has submitted this on-line on the form
sent by the Treasurer. The BOA looked to the form submitted:
Taxes or charges of a person who are unable to pay their taxes, charges, interest, and/or
collection fees.
The Chair noted all the possible categories to be considered for abatement per VT statutes.
The Chair then invited Ms Schimmel to present her case and any supporting evidence. Ms.
Schimmel provided a written statement and spoke to the BOA regarding her situation.
The Chair then invited the Treasurer to speak. The treasurer reviewed the timeline of events re:
payment receipt, deposit, action of bank, notification from bank of ISF and redeposit.
The chair then allowed questions and/or comments from the BOA.
The Chair thanked Ms. Schimmel for attending the meeting via zoom and explained the next
step of going into a closed deliberative session. He reiterated that the BOA, by VT statute, can
only abate taxes for the reason so stated earlier and extreme hardship. The decision of the BOA
is final.
The Chair closed the meeting and the deliberative session began at 6:05 pm. The BOA came out
of the deliberative session at 6:25 pm. A motion was made to deny the request for abatement.
The BOA meeting was adjourned 6:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Elly Majonen
Town Clerk, Treasurer

Link to Meeting Recording: