Town Meeting Member Sues Town of Framingham, Board of Assessors

Framingham Town Meeting Member Deborah Butler filed a lawsuit against the Town of Framingham and the Board of Assessors late Friday afternoon on Jan. 2.

The civil suit, filed in Middlesex County Superior Court, is seeking the courts to join Butler, who ran unsuccessfully for Selectman in 2014, to join her more-than-year-long battle against the Town of Framingham over how Framingham determines the split tax rate.

Butler wants the court to requires the Town and Assessors to “ recalculate the FY 2015 tax rate based on ‘full and fair cash value,’ as the value for commercial and industrial property.”

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The three count complaint, names the Town of Framingham, its Board of Assessors and Chief Assessor William Naser as defendants and asks the court to enjoin the Town from using “income and expense” in FY2015 to value commercial and industrial property in Framingham citing M.G.L. ch 59 §38 and equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution, said Butler.

Butler, who was recently made a Town Meeting member in Precinct 7, also seeks the new Attorney General’s office to get involved in her issue.

“Until all parcels especially commercial and industrial are valued in the same manner as residential property, millions in lost tax revenue will continue to be borne on the shoulders of beleaguered single-family and condo property owners” said Butler in a press release.

“Since a citizen’s petition, numerous letters to the editor, countless blog posts, an unsuccessful run for town selectman and my own public hearing appearances failed to gain official answers to my constituents’ concerns regarding the ramifications of undervalued properties I can only hope my filing today will,” said Butler in her press release issued on Monday, Jan. 5.

Framingham Town Manager Bob Halpin said he could not discuss pending litigation and referred requests for comment to Framingham Town Counsel Chris Petrini.

Petrini told Patch he was reviewing the lawsuit, and will meet with Selectmen and Halpin to discuss the matter further. He said based on an early review, the suit ”lacked merit.” He also said the suit had ”some serious legal infirmities.”

Butler, is a tax attorney, who lives at her parents’ home on Doyle Circle.