Assessor - Town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

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Major Development Opportunity Allen Property

Shrewsbury Launches GIS Website

The Town of Shrewsbury recently launched a Geographic Information System website that provides both GIS and Assessor’s data for properties located within the town.

The new website provides various map layers including street overlay, satellite imagery, tax maps, natural features such as water and topography, and more.

Residents can search properties by street address, parcel number, or owner’s name. Residents may also browse the map and zoom in to properties without having specific location or parcel information.

“Online access to this information is a long time coming,” said Town of Shrewsbury Website Administrator Jackie Pratt. “For years residents have been asking for assessed property values, topography maps and all of the things the new GIS website provides. Having this information readily available from home will cut down on the number of residents having to call or come into the Town Hall to get their property assessment and GIS questions answered.”

Both Dan McCullen of the Engineering Department and Andre Beliveau of the MIS Department worked many hours to get the new online GIS system up and running. “This was a joint effort between departments, and the end result is something I hope will be appreciated by our residents,” said Ms. Pratt.

Visit http://gis.shrewsbury-ma.gov to access Shrewsbury’s GIS website.

Introduction from the Principal Assessor

Dear Concerned Citizen,

The Assessor's Office is committed to maintaining an assessment system that can develop fair and equitable values for all classes of property. This department is charged with establishing market-based assessments for more than 12,000 real estate parcels and over 400 personal property accounts. This is accomplished through the work of one full time, Principal Assessor, two part time Board members, two clerical positions, and one part time lister. Today's most up to date technology is being utilized as well. The use of a sophisticated CAMA system enables us to maintain accurate and fair values.

The Assessor's Office is eager to offer the best in customer service and information. The staff will attempt to answer a wide variety of questions and issues: ranging from abatements to exemptions: from property identification to motor vehicle excise tax issues. It is our opinion that an informed taxpayer has, at the very least, a better understanding of what we do and what we can provide for services.

We hope you will find our Internet site - which provides answers to frequently asked questions and includes our taxpayer information literature - helpful.

Christopher R. Reidy
Chairman, Shrewsbury Board of Assessors

The Assessor's Role in the Tax Cycle

The financial process within local government begins in the Assessor's Office. The funding for the operation of local government is provided from several sources, state funding, local receipts, and from the property tax. The legislative body of local government establishes the amount of funding required. In Shrewsbury it is the town meeting. It is the Assessor's responsibility to determine how much of the total receipts are attributable to the property tax and distribute it evenly and fairly based upon the assessed values established by the appraisal process. The primary responsibility of the Assessor is to appraise property. The appraisal process is conducted through what is termed "Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal", CAMA. Since there are in excess of 12,000 parcels to appraise it is an absolute necessity that the most up to date and accurate computer process are used. It is virtually impossible to conduct individual appraisals on all parcels within the time frame required. The Assessor doesn't determine how much your taxes will be. It is the amount of dollars spent that determines the taxes. The assessor is just the messenger.

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For more inquiries or information contact us at 508-841-8501.