Assessors

NOTICE: AS OF 3/18/20, SHUTESBURY TOWN HALL IS CLOSED INDEFINITELY DUE TO THE COVID-19 CORONAVIRUS PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.

During this closure, the Assessors' Office continues to function.  You may contact us by:

Our staff will be either in the Town Hall or working from our homes during this period. Depending on where we are, it may take longer than usual to respond to your communications.

For the foreseeable future, any necessary home inspections will be done on an exterior basis only - unless the homeowner requests and/or agrees to an interior inspection. (We have a smart phone "app" that will let property owners handle their own interior inspections, with the info automatically sent to us.)

Board of Assessors meetings will take place through web conferencing, per Governor Charlie Baker's March 10, 2020 Executive Order.

Kevin Rudden, Administrative Assessor

 

Fiscal Year 2020 tax rate:  $24.04/$1,000 of valuation

Fiscal Year 2020 Assessed Values (alphabetical by property owner)

 

Fiscal Year 2021 Property Tax Information: (from the MA Department of Revenue [May 7, 2020])

Assessors are required by Massachusetts law to assess all real and personal property at its fair cash value as of January 1 each year. Fair cash value correlates to fair market value, the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would settle upon in an open market transaction. Property assessments are retrospective in Massachusetts and based on the market conditions that occurred in the previous calendar year. The date of value for the assessments for the upcoming Fiscal Year 2021 reflects January 1, 2020.  Sales Analysis will demonstrates that assessments are at or near the statutory standard of fair market value and that there are not significant variances in assessment levels among the property classes. This is measured by an assessment to sales ratio with a median that must range between 90% to 110% for all classes. This requirement maintains an equitable approach to the allocation of the property tax burden. Finalizing assessments for Fiscal Year 2021, the assessor will review the real estate market in calendar year 2019. While it's not possible to completely ignore the financial collapse of certain businesses due to the COVID-19 crisis, the assessor is expected to minimize the influence of this new information by viewing through the eyes of market participant as of the assessment date, the beginning of the year.

 

The Board of Assessors is always willing to discuss individual assessments with property owners.

Please call the Assessors’ office with any questions or concerns.

 

ONLINE GIS MAPS AND PROPERTY INFORMATION

 

Useful Information and links:

Depart of Revenue - Division of Local Services' videos on municipal finance topics: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr30466gLRT-ZcDnBQsy8Mg/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=1

Motor Vehicle Excise tax information:  https://www.mass.gov/guides/motor-vehicle-excise

Information on documents needed when filing a Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Abatement Application

Personal Property tax & Exemption information and forms:  https://www.mass.gov/lists/pr

operty-tax-forms-and-guides

 

Chapter 61 Applications due by October 1st

 

This reminder is for all Chapter 61 property owners that your applications are due on or before October 1st.  Recreational (61-B) and Agricultural (61-A) applicants are required to apply every year by October 1st.  If you are classified in Forestry (61) and have a Forest management plan which expires at the end of 2020, your completed application and updated forest management plan also should be received  by the Board of Assessors by October 1st.

 

Application forms are available below or may be picked up at our office during office hours.  Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Forms:

The following forms are available as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files:

Form of List (household)
Form of List (business)