How are property values assessed?
The Town Assessor determines the fair market value of every taxable property in Williamstown. Your share of the Town’s tax bill depends on that value — what the Town says your property is worth.
Property taxes are the Town’s largest source of revenue, making up over 70% of the budget. That funds schools, employee salaries and benefits, roads, water and waste systems, public safety, and the day-to-day services our community relies on. Each year, the Assessor updates the tables used to calculate building and land values. They base this on current real estate trends.
One of the main tools they use is the sales ratio study. It compares recent home sale prices to assessed values. This check makes sure assessments are keeping pace with the market. State guidelines require assessments to fall between 90% and 110% of the median sale price for each property type.
Here’s an example. Say ranch-style homes in town have a median sale price of $100,000. But the median assessed value for ranch homes is only $80,000. State rules would require the Assessor to raise those assessments so they land between $90,000 and $110,000. The same process applies to every style of home and property class.
Your assessment may lag behind current sale prices. That’s because the Assessor typically looks at sales from the prior year. Other factors can affect your assessment too — including building permits, which can change a property’s condition rating, and additions that increase finished living space.
How is the tax burden distributed?
Each year, the state’s Bureau of Local Assessment reviews the new assessed values. After that approval, the Select Board holds its annual Classification Hearing — a public meeting where board members decide how to split the tax burden across property types. They have four options:
• An Open Space Discount
• A Residential Exemption
• A Small Commercial Exemption
• A single tax rate, or a split rate between residential and commercial/industrial property
No matter which option they choose, the total tax collected stays the same — the options only change how that total is divided among property owners. Williamstown has long kept a single tax rate for all property types. This spreads the levy evenly, without adding extra burden to commercial, industrial, or Chapter Land properties. A split rate would shift more of that burden onto those property types, and less onto residential ones.
Want to see your own assessment? Search the interactive GIS (Geographic Information System) Property Map by last name, then open your Patriot Property Card to view your assessed value.
Have more questions? Contact the Assessor’s Office directly.