ATHENS — As a lister for Athens since 1999, I congratulate the town of Brookline for staying the course in defense of its grand list and for upholding the work that its listers did.
Being a lister is not an easy job, nor is it a high-paying job. It is for the most part a thankless job.
I have found over the years that listers are a unique kind of individual. They care about their community. They try to be fair to each and every individual property owner.
I understand the issues that the property owner had because whether you are living in a multimillion-dollar home or a mobile home, you want to know that your property is being assessed fairly.
Listers try very hard to do so - to make sure a property is assessed at a fair-market value (and a replacement value). But when you are put in the situation such as Brookline was, having no properties in that town or, frankly, any town close by in a similar value range, they did the best they could - and the Supreme Court has said they did their job.