Assessors and their Role

Assessors and their Responsibilities
The Board of Assessors is a 3-member board, elected by the town residents for a term of 3 years.

Massachusetts’s law to list and value all real and personal property as of January 1 is the Office of Assessors responsibility. All assessed values in Massachusetts are based on “full and fair cash value”. The assessors are responsible for meeting the certification requirement of the Department of Revenue.  To meet these requirements, the Assessors are obligated to revalue all properties yearly, and once every five years undergo a state recertification audit.

The Office of Assessors also administers the following programs:

  • Real Estate and Personal Property Tax Abatements
  • Personal Property Forms of List
  • Supplemental Tax Billing
  •  Real Estate Tax Exemption
  • Chapter Land
  • 3ABC Exemptions
  • Tax Deferrals
  • Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Billing and Abatements
  • Property/Parcel information
  • Public Access Terminal
  • Abutters List
  • Name/Address Changes
  • Registry of Deed Information
  • Property Map Data Updates
  • Senior/Veteran Work Program

Role of Assessors in Municipal Finance
In Massachusetts, assessors are either appointed or elected to three-year terms. The assessors’ primary responsibility is to value all real estate and personal property that are subject to taxation. Assessed valuations are based on “full and fair cash value” as of the January 1st preceding each fiscal year.

In order to maintain assessments at or near market value, the assessors regularly compare property valuations with the selling prices of properties that have sold. Assessment-to-sale ratio statistics are analyzed to determine the medial assessment level, as well as, assessment uniformity.

No valuation methodology can accurately predict what a property will sell for. A secondary, and perhaps more important role of the Board of Assessors is to generate equitable assessments. To that end, we continually strive to maintain an accurate property database and refine valuation tables and formulas that yield both equitable and explainable assessments.