The Board of Assessors has posted their annual preliminary property revaluations.
By state law, the board must post the assessments for a five day inquiry period. That began yesterday and closes at end of business on Friday, September 4th. During this time property owners can ask question about their valuations.
After the window closes, the town will seek final certification from the State for tax billing.
To see yours and other property assessments (for values as of January 1, 2020), click here.
To make inquiries next week, call the Assessor’s office at 508-485-0720. They are open every day beginning 8:00 am. They close at 5:00 pm Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Tuesday they are open in the evening until 7:00 pm, while Friday they close at noon.
The BOA’s notice explains that property assessments generally increased. More details are in the full message below:
SOUTHBOROUGH PROPERTY VALUES ESTABLISHED FOR FY2021
PUBLIC DISCLOSURE WILL BE AUGUST 31, 2020 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 4 TH, 2020
POSTED ON: AUGUST 31, 2020 – 6:00AMIn accordance with guidelines established by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Board of Assessors has completed its annual revaluation of all real and personal property for the purpose of local property taxation.
Massachusetts law requires that all property be assessed at its fair cash value as of January 1, 2020. Fiscal year 2021 assessments are based on analysis of arms-length sales and market conditions that occurred during the 2019 calendar year. Sales from the year 2018 were used to value property when the number of 2019 sales were insufficient for analysis. The Board of Assessors has conducted the necessary analysis and adjusted assessments accordingly. Please note, assessments will not reflect calendar year 2020 real estate sales and market conditions until next year (Fiscal Year 2022).
Residential properties increased in value 3.4% on average, commercial properties increased 1.15% on average, and industrial properties have increased 7.1% on average. Personal Property as a class increased in total value by 15.8%. These changes reflect overall affects to large classes of property. Individual assessments may have changed more or less than the average.
The Bureau of Local Assessment within the Department of Revenue performs a comprehensive review of the Towns analysis to ensure uniform and equitable property values. Once all standards were met, the Commissioner of Revenue issued the Town of Southborough preliminary certification.
The Department of Revenue requires the Assessors to publically disclose the proposed assessments for a minimum of five business days for the public to view and have the opportunity to inquire about the new assessments before they are certified. This information will be available for review Monday August 31st through Friday September 4th by visiting the Town’s website at http://www.southboroughtown.com. Taxpayers may also inquire about their new assessments during our disclosure period by visiting the Assessor’s office at Southborough Town House located at 17 Common Street during regular business hours by appointment only (due to the pandemic) or calling us at (508) 485-0720.
At the expiration of the disclosure period, the Town will seek final certification from the State and finalize assessments for tax billing.
Respectfully,
Southborough Board of Assessors
Jeffrey W. Klein, Chairman
Arthur K. Holmes
Tammi Rice
