As Cranston continues to complete a city-wide Property Revaluation, the city has partnered with Vision Government Solution, Inc. and RRC Engineering Contractors to complete exterior residential and business property revaluations.

Over the summer, residents were asked to complete a data mailer to verify interior information for property parcels. Between now and December, RRC contractors are visiting business properties to verify exterior property measurements and other data.

Tax Assessor Ken Mallette noted that contractors visiting properties will have identification and letters from the city to present for verification and taxpayers have the right to deny access to their personal property. However, data collection is a critical part of the process, and Mayor Ken Hopkins and the City Assessor’s encourage residences’ compliance.

Contractors will also be visiting Cranston business properties to confirm revaluation data. Mallette noted the business personal property revaluation can have added benefits for business owners. Having accurate property data would allow the city to be reimbursed by the state of Rhode Island for the accurate reporting of such property values. Business personal property owners may be exempt up to $50,000 of assessed value on their tax bill for the next year, as the tax related to that will be reimbursed by the state to the city.

Mallette noted that while contractors will be visiting personal residences and brick and mortar business locations separate from a home address, the process does not include taking inventory of “home based businesses.”

The City of Cranston is in the process of a full property revaluation as required by Rhode Island general law, and taxpayers will receive a new property assessment upon completion. R.I. General (RIGL 44-5-11.6), mandates that cities and towns perform a statistical update every third and sixth year and a full property revaluation every nine years. This is the ninth year for the city, requiring a full city-wide revaluation.

Since all current valuations are based on sales as of 12/31/2020, changes since that date have made assessments not reflective of the current real estate market. The rise and fall of real estate values make certain properties more valuable or less valuable, in relation to each other. Due to these reasons, the state of Rhode Island settled on a three-year schedule for property revaluations.

The Full Property Revaluation is scheduled for completion as of 12/31/23. Property owners can expect to receive a new assessment notice in January of February of 2024, and they will have an opportunity to appeal the change and have a hearing on their new assessment. The new assessment notice will include information regarding the informal hearing process. If the taxpayer is not satisfied with the results of the informal hearing process, they may make use of the formal appeal process regarding the new values which will begin after a taxpayer receives their tax bill in July of 2024.

For any questions regarding this process, please call the city of Cranston Assessor’s Office at 401-780-3181. More information on taxpayer revaluation can be found at https://gis.vgsi.com/cranstonri/ and http://www.vgsi.com/taxpayer-revaluation-information/.