Sometimes gremlins sneak into WordPress and eat part of our posts – here’s the correct version.
Answer: Yes. Since Massachusetts voters enacted Proposition 2 ½ back in 1980, the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR) has required assessors to revalue all property on an annual basis to maintain assessed values at 100% of full and fair market value. This means that each fiscal year (July 1st to June 30th) is a “revaluation year” in which the DOR certifies each step of the work an Assessing Office does as part of the process to set a new tax rate.
Every fifth year, however, is known as a “recertification” year. During this period, the DOR does a much more in-depth examination of these steps to ensure that the Assessors’ Office is completely complying with all DOR policies, [procedures and regulations. In Fiscal Year 2026, which began this month, 69 municipalities throughout the state – including Holliston – are in recertification years.
According to the DOR’s “Certification Standards” publication, “The five-year certification review is conducted by the BLA [Bureau of Local Assessment] to ensure the proposed values were derived utilizing a methodology based on generally accepted mass appraisal practices, are supported with market evidence, and are uniformly and equitably applied to all property.”
In this recertification year, the only difference Holliston’s taxpayers will see is that, in the Fall, the Assessors’ Office will hold a public hearing and have a public review period for property owners to review their Fiscal Year 2026 valuations prior to the tax rate being set.
In addition, two outside consultants will be assisting the Assessors’ Office in preparing the Fiscal Year 2026 valuations. The New England regional offices of Tyler Technologies – a national company which developed our current Computer-Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) software and advises us each year on adjusting property values – will provide much deeper scrutiny into three classes of property (residential, commercial and industrial) between now and the end of September. Real Estate Research Consultants (RRC), a North Andover-based company which currently values personal property owned by businesses in Holliston, also will be providing a more in-depth review between now and the end of September.
If anyone has questions about the recertification process, feel free to contact Principal Assessor Kevin Rudden at 508-429-0604.
