About Us

The Board of Assessors consists of three members, each elected for a three-year term. They are responsible for carrying out the state’s mandate to establish the fair market value of each property for tax purposes. The Board must follow state guidelines and must obtain state certification of the town-wide revaluation process.

The Assessors’ Office assists the Board in its mission; the personnel in the Assessors’ Office are town employees, hired and supervised by the Board. The Assessors are not responsible for mailing the property tax bills, or collecting the taxes; that is the responsibility of the town tax collector, Diane Doyle, and is carried out after Town Meeting establishes the annual budget.

Revaluations
Inspections and Property Records
Assessment Process
Property Tax Bills
Abatement Process

State Certification
The assessors are required to ensure the accuracy of the assessment data. The Board must obtain state certification every 3 years verifying that the property valuations meet the state criteria for fair market value. The proposed assessments are provided to the Department of Revenue,Division of Local Services for statistical testing and confirmation. The DOR/DLS checks the assessed values for accuracy - both sold and unsold properties - by comparing them to actual property sales.

Overall, regardless of the method used, the statistically derived estimates must fall within a ten percent range of actual selling prices (properties are grouped by various categories, such as neighborhood or building style) in order to satisfy state guidelines. Once approved by the DOR, the new assessments are mailed to the taxpayers.