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ASSESSORS START TO LOOK AT FISCAL YEAR 2010 VALUES
Property values are adjusted every year. By state law, the Assessors use actual sales in a given period to set the market value of each property, based on the property’s characteristics including the size and location of the lot as well as building features such as style, size, age, and condition. The values are set once a year for the entire fiscal year (FY). The entire process is overseen and supervised for all 351 cities and towns by the state government, through the Bureau of Local Assessment (BLA) in the Commonwealth’s Department of Revenue (DOR). For FY2010 the BLA/DOR directs the town, in accordance with state law, to use Calendar 2008 sales and use a January 1, 2009 assessment date. Sales are “culled” to only include true market (“arms length”) sales. These
sales, referred to as “qualified sales”, are then statistically analyzed in order to determine the relative importance of various factors on the actual market price paid. The BLA/DOR requires that assessments town-wide be within 10% of 100% of market value. This means that the resulting model that will be applied to all properties must demonstrate that it calculates the assessed value of sold properties to within 90% to 110% of the actual sales price.
The assessors utilize a computer-aided mass appraisal (CAMA) system that meets the BLA/DOR requirements. The CAMA model does not, nor are the Assessors able to, manipulate values on specific parcels to promote local policies, such as favoring or impeding teardowns and development, protecting open space, encouraging agricultural use, or giving a break to low-income households. As much as the Board members individually, who are all residents themselves, might support certain land policies or assessment practices, they are prohibited from calculating assessments in any way other than that defined by law. The model simply reflects the value of the parcel as indicated by the market. A town does not have the option to ignore land value or discount taxes for those with small houses or long roots in town. The BLA/DOR
closely monitors the model to insure that it is operating according to its regulations, and has been doing so with increasing aggressiveness in recent years.
In recent months there have been many headlines about the real estate market. After the peak in calendar years 2005 and 2006 that followed the sharp rise in 2003 and 2004, the past two years show market value decreases in a slightly steeper slope. In the Northeast the decline has not been as dire as the national headlines proclaim. And here in Concord the trend has not been nearly as severe as in other areas of the Commonwealth. Our initial analysis of calendar year 2008 sales shows a very minor decline in sales prices from 2007. There was a lower volume of sales, however. If there are not enough sales in the appropriate year relevant to the assessment year, then the sample may be expanded to include an additional year’s sales.
All property valuation information is public record, and the Assessors strive to have a transparent system and an informed citizenry. We have published documents explaining the process and posted much information, including meeting times, agendas and minutes, on the town’s website at concordma.gov. There is also a link there to the on-line property record cards.
Regardless of what the assessments are, the Assessors do not set the tax rate. Town Meeting determines the Town’s budget, and the tax rate is calculated by dividing the total budget (less state reimbursements and other local receipts) by the Town’s total value. Even if there were no change in the budget and other receipts from one year to the next, if the values decreased, the tax rate would increase. All residents should refer to the Finance Committee’s Report, April 2009, for details on the Town’s FY2010 budget. This document can be found on the Town’s website. For additional information call any Board member or the office at (978) 318-3070, or come in between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Room 215, 30 Monument Square.
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