Assessors Responsibilities

Assessors are required by Massachusetts Law to list and value all real and personal property. The valuations are subject to ad valorem taxation. Assessed real estate values are derived through Mass Appraisal.  Mass appraisal is the use of standardized procedures for collecting data and appraising property to ensure that all properties within a municipality are valued uniformly and equitably.  This system is a broad approach to predicting the value of properties that did not sell using the information collected about the properties that did sell.  Personal property values are based on standardized purchase price less reasonable depreciation.

Assessors are required to submit these values to the Commissioner of Revenue for certification every five years.  Assessors are also required to adjust assessments in interim years to reflect changes in market conditions.  In addition to market adjustments, adjustments must be made to reflect new construction, alterations, demolitions, etc.  All adjustments must meet strict legal and statistical standards as set forth by the Division of Local Services.

Assessors also commit Motor Vehicle Excise tax, administer farming, recreation, and foresting programs in the form of Chapter land, process exemptions and abatements, maintain a parcel-based mapping system for assessment purposes and maintain the computer-based property records and inventory for all land, buildings and personal property within the Town of Boxford.

Assessors have a major role in promoting effective financial management in the town.  Assessors  do not raise or lower taxes, nor do they make the laws which affect property owners. The level of property taxation is determined by the municipality itself through the Town Meeting process. The Massachusetts Constitution requires that direct taxes on persons be proportionately and reasonably imposed. In addition, the Declaration of rights, Part I, Article 10, requires each individual to bear his or her fair share of the public expenses. The Assessors primary responsibility is to find the “full and fair cash value” of your property, so that you may pay only your fair share of the tax levy.  Tax levies account for a majority of the funds available to the town to provide necessary local services, such as schools, roads, fire, law enforcement, etc.