Assessor

Assessment Explanation

Assessment Youtube Explainer

Duties and Responsibilities:

The Assessor's Office is responsible for the valuation of all property in the Town of Standish including real estate. 

Annually, the Assessor's Office reviews valuations and makes adjustments to property values that include any additions and deletions. Increases or decreases are also made to the town valuation to keep assessments as current as possible to changes in the real estate market. The department is also responsible for maintaining accurate records of property ownership.

In addition to these and other duties, the Assessor's Office is responsible for processing exemptions for homestead, veterans and widows of veterans as well as current use programs (Tree Growth, Farmland and Open Space).

The Assessor's Office is a clearing house of information such as building and land records, monthly sales transactions and assessment valuation information used by other Town departments, the public, and their representatives (appraisers, brokers, attorneys, surveyors, title companies, etc.). Reports are often generated from the commitment file for use by various departments, as well as the office being the source of addresses for public hearing notification.

The work of the Town Assessor is controlled by State Law and reviewed annually by a representative of the State Department of Maine Revenue Services.

Why is the tax bill still in my name if I sold my property?

State of Maine law clearly states that each property must be assessed to the last known owner of record as of April 1st of each year. Therefore, all tax bills go to the owner of record as of April 1st of the tax year.

For example:

• April 1, 2023, you owned the property.
• June, 2023, you sold the property.
• August, 2023 the annual tax bill is “committed”.
• November, 2023 the first half payment is due.
• May, 2024 the second half payment is due.

Your name will appear on all the bills until a new bill is issued in September or October of 2024.

IMPORTANT: Please discuss the property tax bill at time of closing - who is responsible for payment of the taxes and who you will forward the bill to when you receive it. Neither the Assessor nor Tax Collector is responsible for the proration of taxes between buyer and seller.