What does the Assessor do?

The Assessor is required by Massachusetts Law to list and value all real and personal property. Valuation is subject to ad valorem taxation on an assessment roll each year. The "ad valorem" basis for taxation means that all property should be taxed "according to value", which is the definition of ad valorem. Assessed values, in Massachusetts, are based on "full and fair cash value", or 100 percent of the fair market value.The Assessor has not created the value. People make the value by their transactions in the marketplace. The Assessor simply has the legal and moral responsibility to study those transactions and apply a mass appraisal approach accordingly.

Assessors are required to submit these values to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Bureau of Local Assessment, for certification every five years. In the years between certification, Assessors must also maintain the values. The Town of Plympton therefore makes interim adjustments to value each year to reflect the changing market as needed. This assures that the taxpayer pays his or her fair share of the cost of local government, in proportion to the amount of money the property is worth, on a yearly basis rather than every five years.

The Plympton Assessors Office must appraise and assess approximately 1500 parcels of property.