Town Assessor

The Board of Assessors values the real and personal property of the town and commits the property tax. Until 1888 the selectmen also served as assessors and as overseers of the poor. From 1888 the town elected a separate three-member Board of Assessors each year, and in 1894-1896 the same three men were elected to both the assessors and the overseers. From 1949 the board was led by a Principal Assessor with two Associate Assessors. The last elected board was chosen in March 1979; from 1980 the assessors were appointed, and since the 1990s the Town Administrator (later Town Manager) has appointed them for staggered three-year terms. The Principal Assessor is also styled Chief Assessor.