Board of Listers

The Listers and Assessor Clerk can be contacted by phone at 802 254 6857, ext. 104, and are available by appointment.

Listers are elected to staggered 3-year terms by Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day.  The Board of Listers is responsible for creating a defendable and equitable Grand List that assigns a value to all taxable real estate properties in town.  Each property owner’s portion of real estate taxation is determined from the values assigned in the Grand List.  Vermont statutes direct all property appraisals to be at fair market value, or, for qualifying properties, at use value. The Assessor Clerk is hired by the Selectboard to assist the Listers in maintaining the Grand List and running the office on a day-to-day basis

To ensure an accurate and current Grand List, Listers and Assessor Clerk conduct site visits, research legal documents, review surveys, and revise the town parcel maps.  When making a site visit, they typically take measurements and record other information about features and characteristics that affect property value.  They also review all new documents that could affect property valuation (such as Property Tax Transfer Reports, Current Use Valuations, surveys, Homestead and Non-residential Tax Adjustments, Veteran’s Exemptions and other applicable recorded land instruments).

Property valuations are summarized on Property Record Cards, which can be viewed and copied during most regular office hours.  The Assessor Clerk and Listers respond to general inquiries about property valuation as well as formal appeals.  The documents below provide an overview of the property tax appeal process:

Are You Appealing? An introduction to property tax assessment appeals

A Special Report on Property Tax Appeals A guide to the tax appeal process

Guildford Town Grand Lists