Municipal and Property

The mission of the Municipal and Property Division is to assure fairness, equity and proportionality in the assessment and collection of property taxes and the administration of municipal finances in the state by establishing tax rates, providing technical assistance and education to municipal officials, monitoring revaluations, reviewing assessment practices, equalizing local assessed valuation, appraising public utility and railroad property, and administering timber and gravel taxation.

Municipal

The Municipal and Property Division establishes and approves municipal, school, county, state and village district tax rates.  Provides technical assistance relative to taxation and finance to the over 500 political subdivisions of the state and provides general supervision over municipal tax collectors.

Other services performed include:

• Prescribing a uniform chart of accounts for all municipalities;
• Establishing a standard technical assistance manual for use by municipalities;
• Reviewing trustees reports of trust funds in conjunction with the Department of Justice Charitable Trust Unit;
• Conducting workshops and seminars for municipal officials, including selectmen, budget committees, trustees of trust funds, tax collectors, and school officials.

Property

The Municipal and Property Division also oversees the Assessment Review and Equalization bureaus and has the responsibility of:

• Monitoring revaluations and revaluation contracts
• Timber and Gravel Excavation Assistance
• Assessing Standards, Current Use, and Equalization Standards Boards administrative assistance
• Reporting on a variety of assessment information - individual municipal and/or statewide levels

Assessment Review is the process of reviewing the assessing practices of each NH municipality over a five-year cycle to ensure compliance with applicable statutes and rules in the context of the Assessing Standards Board's Guidelines on Assessing Practices.

Equalization is the process of equalizing local assessed values for each NH municipality in order to bring the values to 100%. The equalization process includes compiling assessment data, conducting ratio studies, and preparing statistical reports. This includes administering the Flood, Forest and Recreation PILT reimbursement program and calculating Base Valuation for Debt Limits.

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