PARIS – The Oxford County Board of Review voted against granting tax abatements to individuals from four towns Wednesday morning.

In three of the cases, an individual from the five-member panel recused themselves from the decision. All of the cases involved the owners of residential properties, who were seeking tax abatements from Paris, Buckfield, Hartford and Fryeburg. In each of the cases, the board decided against granting an abatement because they thought the town had shown no prejudice against the property owner.

“Looking at these comparisons, everything looks pretty much in line,” said board member Norm Ferguson of Hanover upon reviewing the case of Jason Haley v. Buckfield. He was seeking an abatement for an apartment building.

Board member Fred Packard said a 5 percent increase in Buckfield’s valuation was made across the board to equalize the assessor’s ratio between valuation and market value.

“If you own a big place, you’re going to get taxed more than a small place,” Packard said.

Wade Rainey recused himself from the vote, which denied the abatement.

Eric Sparks, owner of a two-bedroom ranch house in Fryeburg, discussed his case with the board via speakerphone. Sparks said a private appraisal of the home had put the property’s value at between $90,000 and $100,000, while the town appraised it at $137,000. Several comparable properties were introduced to the board.

Dennis Berube of O’Donnell and Associates spoke on behalf of the town. He said certain factors, such as the condition of the home, were affecting the price of the properties Sparks presented. He presented his own set of properties comparable to the Sparks property which showed a price range between $150,000 and $167,000.

“If you don’t look at all the sales, you don’t get a good gauge of where the market really is,” Berube said.

The board voted against granting the abatement, with Packard recusing himself.

Berube also represented the town of Hartford, which was accused of unfair assessment by Ronald and Irene Garry, who own a camp and adjoining lot on Lake Anasagunticook.

“Their formula, as far as I’m concerned, discriminates against people,” said Ronald Garry, claiming that O’Donnell and Associates, which does assessment work for Hartford, is unfair toward lakefront property owners. He cited nearby properties with lower assessment rates in his argument.

Berube said the amount of property one owns is not valued in a linear fashion, so 200 feet of lakefront will not be valued twice as much as 100 feet of lakefront.

The abatement was denied with the full board voting.

Lastly, Bernie and Judy Brown-Dunn presented their case for an abatement on their property on Parsons Road in Paris. They said they purchased the undeveloped lot for about $40,000, and that it was assessed for $52,000 after they constructed a house on the site.

Paris assessor Kevin McGillicuddy said the assessments are standard, with an undeveloped acre assessed at $22,500 and a developed acre at $52,000. The valuation is conditional for additional acreage.

With board member Michael Noble recusing himself, the board voted against granting the abatement.