Stephen M. Dion: Mayor and council made the right decision

To the editor:

In July of 2019, I wrote a letter to the State of New Hampshire's Board of Tax and Land Appeals to lodge a formal complaint about the impropriety of the Berlin Board of Assessors granting abatements to each other and a son. I guess the BTLA thought that there were enough issues in my complaint to order an evidentiary hearing. During this hearing everyone who was ordered to appear such as, all BOA members, myself, the DRA (as interveners) the lawyers for the BOA, lawyers for the City of Berlin and lawyers' for the DRA, City Manager etc. were all sworn in under oath. This hearing was supposed to be held last year in Concord but got postponed once due to inclement weather and then again because of Covid. Eventually, a WebEx meeting was held over a two day period in February of 2021. The BTLA concluded on March 17, 2021, that the Berlin BOA members acted improperly and not in the best interest of the City of Berlin's taxpayers, by granting each other and a board member's son abatements. Please see the City of Berlin's website berlinnh.gov/homenews/btla- decision-board-assessors-abatement-case to read the BTLA's decision.