County board of assessment review

1. Organization. A county board of assessment review, as authorized by section 844, subsection 1-A , consists of 5 or 7 members, at least one of whom must be a licensed real estate appraiser and one of whom must be a member of the general public, who serve staggered terms of at least 3 but no more than 5 years. The terms must be determined by rule of the board. The board shall elect annually a chair and a secretary from among its members. A county official or the spouse of a county official may not be a member of the board. Any question of whether a particular issue involves a conflict of interest sufficient to disqualify a member from voting on that issue must be decided by a majority vote of the members, excluding the member who is being challenged. The county commissioners may dismiss a member of the board for cause before the member's term expires. 2. Meetings; records. The chair shall call meetings of the board as required. The chair shall also call meetings of the board when requested to do so by a majority of the board members or by the county commissioners. A majority of the board's members constitutes a quorum. The chair shall preside at the meetings of the board and is the official spokesperson of the board. The secretary shall maintain a permanent record of the board meetings, the correspondence of the board and the records that are required as part of the various proceedings brought before the board. The records maintained or prepared by the secretary must be filed in the county commissioners' office and subject to public inspection in accordance with Title 1, chapter 13 , unless excepted from the definition of public records under Title 1, section 402, subsection 3 or otherwise exempt from disclosure under Title 1, chapter 13 . 3. Hearing. The board shall adopt rules to establish the procedure for the conduct of a hearing; however, the chair may waive any rule upon good cause shown. 4. Evidence. The board shall receive oral or documentary evidence and, as a matter of policy, provide for the exclusion of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence. Each party may present its case or defense by oral or documentary evidence, submit rebuttal evidence and conduct cross-examination that is required for a full and true disclosure of the facts. 5. Testimony; record; notice. The transcript or tape recording of testimony, if such a transcript or tape recording has been prepared by the board, and the exhibits, with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, constitute the record. Decisions become a part of the record and must include a statement of findings and conclusions, as well as the reasons or basis for those findings and conclusions, upon the material issues of fact, law or discretion presented and the appropriate order, relief or denial of relief. If the board determines that the applicant is over-assessed, it shall grant such reasonable abatement as the board determines proper. Notice of a decision must be mailed or hand delivered to all parties and the county commissioners within 10 days of the board's decision. 6. Appeals. A party may appeal the decision of the county board of assessment review to the Superior Court in accordance with the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 80B. If the county board of assessment review fails to give written notice of its decision within 60 days of the date the application was filed, unless the applicant agrees in writing to further delay, the application is deemed denied and the applicant may appeal to the Superior Court as if there had been a written denial.