32 V.S.A. § 3710 — Municipal Grand List Stabilization Program

(a) There is established the Municipal Grand List Stabilization Program within the Department
of Taxes to reimburse municipalities for municipal property taxes assessed under chapter
133 of this title for flood-prone properties acquired by a municipality through a
voluntary buyout program operated by the Division of Emergency Management.
(b) On or before September 1 of each year, the Commissioner of Public Safety shall certify
to the Commissioner of Taxes the properties eligible for the Municipal Grand List
Stabilization Program and shall submit any other information required by the Commissioner
of Taxes. To be eligible for the Program under this subchapter, a municipality must
have acquired an eligible property on or after July 1, 2023 and preserved the property
as open space with a deed restriction or covenant prohibiting development of the property.
The Commissioner of Public Safety shall first certify properties to the Commissioner
of Taxes pursuant to this subsection on or before September 1, 2025.
(c) Upon notification by the Commissioner of Public Safety, the Commissioner of Taxes
shall certify the payment amounts and make an annual payment to each municipality
for each eligible property to compensate for the loss of municipal property tax. The
payment shall be calculated using the grand list value of the acquired property for
the year during which the property was either damaged by flooding or identified as
flood-prone by the Commissioner of Public Safety, multiplied by the municipal tax
rate, including any submunicipal tax rates, in effect each year. This payment shall
be made on or before January 1 of each year for five years.
(d) A property shall not be eligible for reimbursement payments for more than 10 years.
The Commissioner shall make an annual payment for the full amount calculated under
subsection (c) of this section for five years. After a municipality has received payments
for an eligible property for five consecutive years, the Commissioner shall make an
annual payment to the municipality for any subsequent year of eligibility in an amount
equal to one-half of the amount calculated under subsection (c) of this section.
(e) Payment under this section shall be calculated and issued from the PILOT Special Fund
under section 3709 of this title only after all other grants under subchapter 4 of
this chapter are calculated and issued. If the PILOT Special Fund balance is insufficient
to pay the full amount of all payments authorized under this subchapter, then payments
calculated under this section and due to each municipality for each property shall
be reduced proportionately. (