Opinion ID: 1916821
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Moreaus

Text: The Board's purported findings in the tax appeal of plaintiffs Jeanne and Andre Moreau are unquestionably inadequate. After reappraisal, the market value of plaintiffs' property was increased from $7,700 to $126,000. On appeal, the Board reduced the assessment to $121,000. In support of its action the Board found: Swamp is poor land, and added After considerable discussion of this and similar land motion was made and passed to do the following: 19.84 acre swamp × 400 and 25.02 acres at 651. These findings do not provide the reasons for the Board's result as mandated by Punderson, supra . The superior court's holding to this effect was correct. As in the case of several other taxpayers in these appeals, the Moreaus filed a cross-appeal from the decision of the superior court. The central issue raised by the cross-appeals is whether the sanctions of § 4404(c) are applicable because of the town clerk's failure to call a meeting of the Board on or before June 27, 1979, as required by 32 V.S.A. §§ 4404(b) and 4341. There appear to be several problems with this argument, the primary of which is the apparent limitation of the sanction contained in § 4404(c) to failures by the Board, and not by other officials such as the town clerk. In any event, it is not necessary to resolve this question in light of our decision affirming the superior court's judgments in favor of the taxpayers on other grounds. Finally, we decline to address the remaining issues briefed by the Town. These issues were neither litigated nor decided below, and thus will not be considered for the first time on appeal. In re Town of St. Johnsbury School District, 137 Vt. 557, 558, 409 A.2d 573, 574 (1979); University of Vermont v. Town of Mendon, 136 Vt. 400, 402, 392 A.2d 415, 416 (1978). Affirmed.