Southwick Board of Assessors Approves FY 2027 Warrants, Plans Cyclical Inspection RFP

Other Committee · Meeting of June 22, 2026

Southwick Board of Assessors approves FY 2027 warrant package and begins planning for long-deferred cyclical property inspection program. The two-member board, Chair John Cain and member Bill Brown, unanimously approved ten items Monday evening, including preliminary real estate and personal property warrants for FY 2027, supplemental tax commitments for properties at 97 Sheep Pasture Road and 34 Hudson Street, and a Chapter 61A tax lien release for 177 Klaus Anderson Road, and paid an invoice to revaluation firm Bishop and Associates. Director of Assessing Randall Austin said the office plans to issue an RFP for outside data collectors to complete roughly 380 required residential inspections over a two-year window, citing a $33,000 supplemental personal property bill approved at the same meeting as evidence that the effort "is going to pay for itself." Austin also formally recognized a staff member named Cindy, who earned a Certified Assessing Administrator designation from the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers, and announced he is working with the planning department to formalize both a Tax Increment Financing process and a written right-of-first-refusal policy under Chapter 61A.

In the full story:

• Cyclical Property Inspection Program
• Staff Certification Recognition
• TIF Policy and Right-of-First-Refusal Policy Development
• Market Analysis and Revaluation Preparation
• Budget and Next Meeting
• Who Was There
• The complete report, 2,369 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of June 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.