ROCKINGHAM, Vt. – In March of 2022, two board members of the Rockingham Lister Department will retire; Camilla Roberts started with the department in 2004, Paul “Obie” Obuchowski in 2018.
Roberts said there was a steep learning curve with the position, and soon after she was elected she became Chairperson. There was training and a lot to learn: statutes, timelines, and bureaucratic procedures. She said she “felt comfortable after 3 years,” and she found the job fascinating.
Roberts acknowledged, “I feel grateful to the community [for] opening my eyes… everybody who is here is included and belongs here.”
She grew up in Pomfret, and in the 80’s operated a dairy farm with her husband in Grafton, eventually moving to Rockingham with her family in 2003.
Roberts said, “In 18 years [of being a lister] I’ve learned so much.” On retirement, she said she will remain a state hearing officer for the Vermont Property Valuation and Review Department, which is a part-time position.
Obie said he had joined the board as a write-in on the ballot for one year after Michael Harty’s passing. He ran again on a three-year seat.
He said he had served 35 years on the Board of Civil Authority and was familiar with lister cards, doing site visits, tax appeals, and sat on the board for two major town reappraisals, 25 and 15 years ago.
Obie explained the main reason he was interested in the Lister Department was working for his community. He had spent 30 years on the school board, 15 years on the library board, and was five times past president of the Alumni Association. When his daughters were little, he was involved with fraternal organization programs for kids, seniors, and veterans through the American Legion Post 37 and the Elks Lodge 1619.
Obie reflected that his brother, Michael was the out-of-town representative, serving the last 36 years in the State Legislature. He said, “I was the in-town Obuchowski to do things.”
He was born and raised in Bellows Falls, leaving only for college where he began dating wife Terry, who recently retired from Central Elementary School after 42 years. He said he was looking forward to their future, which involved working less, travel, and golfing.
About the Lister office, Obie said when he first came into the department, he learned quickly that the process was being “fair and equal.” He said the question for the school board was, “how does this benefit the kids?” The listers treat everyone and every case “fair and equal,” no matter who you are.
Roberts has offered to remain available to assist the new Board of Listers as a consultant in order to help them get trained for their responsibilities and the next town wide reappraisal. She said in 2017 they were able to do the reappraisal themselves, which saved the town money. Roberts explained it was also because they knew the community and how it works.
Both Roberts and Obuchowski explained that improvements of property assets increase the value of your property. A rising real estate market can also increase the value of property. When the value goes up, the Grand List rises and the tax rate goes down.
The goal for the future of the Lister Department is to have three trained board members who can do the next reappraisal themselves. They explained they recognize a partial reappraisal needs to happen and they are preparing for that now. There will be more information posted on the partial reappraisal this spring.
The listers will be on The Feed Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 11 a.m. They hope to find two qualified candidates to take over for Roberts and Obuchowski in March. If you are interested in learning more about the available positions, call 802-463-1229 or email listers@rockbf.org.