When most Vermonters hear “Act 73,” they think one thing: school district consolidation.
That’s the headline piece. Act 73, passed last year, set in motion a plan to redraw and potentially consolidate school district boundaries as part of a broader education finance overhaul.
But buried inside Act 73 is another major structural change — one that hasn’t gotten much public attention — involving how Vermont values property for taxation.
That’s where “RADS” come in.
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What Is a RAD?
RAD stands for Regional Assessment District.
Right now, each Vermont town handles its own property assessments. Towns hire appraisers, schedule reappraisals on their own timelines, and run their own local appeal boards. When assessments drift too far from market value, the state can step in.
Under Act 73, that town-by-town system would eventually be replaced by larger, multi-town regional assessment districts.
Instead of 247 municipalities running separate valuation systems, towns would be grouped into regions. Those regions would:
- Conduct reappraisals together on a coordinated cycle
- Share appraisal contracts
- Use regional appeal boards instead of local Boards of Civil Authority
- Move toward more uniform property valuation statewide
Why does that matter?
Because property values determine education tax rates. If valuations are inconsistent or delayed in some towns, the burden shifts unevenly. Act 73’s authors argue that regionalization would reduce volatility, improve professional consistency, and stabilize the education tax base.
So Act 73 is not just about redrawing school districts. It also restructures the machinery that feeds the statewide education funding formula.
What Happened This Week?
At the Feb. 26 meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee, lawmakers revisited the RAD portion of Act 73.
They are not eliminating it.
But they are rewriting it.
Legislative counsel told the committee that the current draft repeals the original Act 73 statutory language governing regional assessment districts and transition provisions and replaces it with new language.
That raised eyebrows. But the explanation offered was structural, not political.
Rather than stacking amendments on top of Act 73’s original text, lawmakers are choosing to repeal and re-enact the RAD sections in cleaner form. The stated goal is to avoid legal confusion and reduce the risk of constitutional challenges, particularly around delegation of authority.
Tightening Legislative Control
One of the central issues involves who draws the boundaries for these new regional assessment districts.
Earlier drafts allowed the Department of Taxes to establish RAD boundaries based on statutory criteria. That approach raised non-delegation concerns — meaning the Legislature may have been giving too much power to the executive branch.
The revised language would instead require the Commissioner of Taxes to propose regional boundaries aligned with school district lines, but the General Assembly would formally enact those boundaries in statute.
In other words, the Legislature keeps the final say.
That change slows the process but strengthens its legal footing.
Slowing the Timeline
The committee is also extending key deadlines by roughly two years.
Under Act 73, the Director of Property Valuation and Review would have been barred from ordering new standalone municipal reappraisals after a certain date. Towns would also have been restricted from entering new independent reappraisal contracts.
The revised draft pushes those cutoff dates to Jan. 1, 2028.
The Department of Taxes requested additional time. Lawmakers described the approach as a phased transition rather than an abrupt shift. Existing municipal systems will continue operating longer before mandatory regional coordination begins.
The first coordinated reappraisal within a regional district would allow voluntary participation among member towns. After that initial cycle, participation becomes mandatory for subsequent reappraisals.
Appeals Will Change
Act 73 also restructures the appeals process.
Instead of property valuation appeals being heard by each town’s Board of Civil Authority, appeals within a RAD would go to a regional board. Further appeals would go to the Commissioner of Taxes and be heard by a designated hearing officer.
The Department of Taxes is requesting an additional hearing officer position beginning in fiscal year 2027 to prepare for that shift.
The Big Condition: School District Boundaries
Here is the part that ties everything back to consolidation.
The RAD system is contingent on school district boundary reform.
Under the draft reviewed this week, the regional assessment district framework would take full effect Jan. 1, 2031 — but only if the General Assembly enacts new school district boundaries by July 1, 2027.
If that does not happen, the RAD provisions become ineffective.
That means property tax regionalization is directly linked to whether lawmakers follow through on school district consolidation.
The two reforms rise or fall together.
Grand List Date Shift
The committee also advanced a conforming change to move the municipal grand list date from April 1 to Jan. 1, effective in 2031. Lawmakers described this as aligning timelines and giving assessors more time to resolve appeals before tax rates are finalized.
This technical shift supports the broader restructuring envisioned under Act 73.
Where Act 73 Stands
As of Feb. 26:
- Regional Assessment Districts remain part of Act 73.
- The statutory language governing them is being repealed and rewritten for clarity and legal durability.
- Implementation deadlines are being extended.
- Appeals are being centralized regionally.
- The entire framework remains contingent on school district boundary reform by mid-2027.
Act 73 began as a school district consolidation bill. It is now clear that it is also a structural overhaul of Vermont’s property tax valuation system.
The consolidation debate may dominate headlines, but the machinery underneath — how property is assessed and how education taxes are calculated — is quietly being rebuilt as well.
And for now, that rebuild is still very much alive.
Dave Soulia | FYIVT
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