Summer Resources
In summer local finance officials are busy closing out one fiscal year and beginning to implement the next one. This is in addition to working on other important priorities related to preliminary tax billing, submitting omitted and revised assessments, and compiling data for the recap.
Accountant/Auditors
Year-end letter: Accountants/Auditors
Resources for Accountants/Auditors
Accounting Guidance and Oversight
Tax Rate Recapitulation Sheet
Assessors
Resources for Assessors
Property Assessment & Valuation Guidance
State owned land valuations
Equalized Valuations (EQV)
Omitted and Revised Assessments
Tax Rate Recapitulation Sheet
Clerks
Year-end letter: Clerks
Resources for Clerks
Update Local Officials Directory
Collector
Year-end letter: Collectors
Resources for Collectors
Treasurer
Year-end letter: Treasurer
Resources for Treasurers
Spring resources
Local finance officials are continuing to prepare the FY2025 budget in addition to working on other important spring priorities related to personal property, property tax exemptions, the overlay, municipal indebtedness, tax billing and year-round accounting activities.
Accountant/Auditors & Other Local Officials:
Budget Bulletin for FY2025
This Bulletin addresses several topics that cities, towns, regional school and other districts should consider for FY2025 budgeting and other related matters. Click here for BUL 2024-2 FY2025 Budget Issues and Other Related Matters.
Reconciliation
Prompt and frequent reconciliations help maintain financial controls and checks and balances. Reconciliations are performed to ensure that information was processed properly and that the financial records in each office are accurate.
- Training Resources: Reconciling Cash and Receivables
- Reconciliation Policy (PDF)
- Reconciling Cash and Receivables (PDF)
Year-end
- Year End Transfers IGR 17-23 (PDF)
- Year-end Closing (PDF)
Assessors:
Personal Property
- Tax Administration of Personal Property (Video)
- Personal Property (FAQs) (PDF)
- Personal Property (Handbook) (PDF)
- Personal Property (YouTube Playlist)
Property Tax Exemptions
- Exemptions for Charitable Organizations (FAQs) (PDF)
- Property Tax Exemptions (Handbook) (PDF)
- Property Tax Exemptions (YouTube Playlist)
- Training Resources: Property Tax Exemptions for Persons, Residential Exemptions, and Small Commercial Exemptions
Assessors, Accountants and Selectboard:
It’s recommended that on March 1st, the Selectboard requests the Determination of Overlay Surplus and within 10 days of this request, the Assessors must determine if a surplus exists, and if so, vote to certify the surplus amount and notify the Accountant of the vote so that the amount can be transferred to the overlay surplus account.
Clerks:
After spring elections for select board, school committees, assessors, clerks, and other locally elected town officials the clerk should update the Local Officials Directory (LOD) with new contact information.
- Updating the LOD (PDF)
Collector:
The collector is finishing the property tax billing for the fiscal year in the spring with bills due for all three cycles: Quarterly, Preliminary Semi-Annual and Semi-Annual for April 1st.
Winter resources
Finish Fall Priorities:
If your community hasn’t already, now is the time to set your communities tax rate! Not sure where your community is in the tax rate setting process, use this tracker to find out. You’ll want to make sure necessary new growth and tax rate forms have been submitted. Also, communities need to submit their Schedule A so they don’t have local aid payments delayed until it’s submitted.
Tackle Winter Priorities:
In addition to preparing for property tax abatements and motor vehicle excise, assessors will need to mail 3ABC Forms to charitable organizations and Forms of List to personal property owners by December 31, 2023. Communities with quarterly and semi-annual preliminary billing will be busy with winter tax billing for December 31, 2023. Water and sewer commissioners have until December 31, 2023 for betterments to be included on next year’s tax bill.
Winter tools
Fall resources
- Assessors and Accountants are reminded to file CP1 report in Gateway showing the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge committed in FY23 by September 15th. Data is necessary to calculate state matching funds for November.
- Community Preservation chairperson must update Community Preservation project inventory in MASSGis web application by September 15th to receive the state matching funds in November.
- Clerks are reminded to enter any Proposition 2 ½ referendum questions into Gateway, for guidance view our webinar on Submitting Proposition 2 ½ Votes Using DLS Gateway.
- Clerks are reminded to update the Gateway Local Official Directory after fall elections.