Connecticut Association of
Assessing Officers

Statement of Duties:  Position is responsible for the collection of data of all building permits for new construction as well as additions or changes to parcels of land that may affect the tax assessment of real and personal property in the City of Danbury. Employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.

Supervision Required: Employee works under the general supervision of the Assessor.  The employee is familiar with the work routine and uses initiative in carrying out recurring assignments independently with specific instruction.  The supervisor provides instruction for new or unusual assignments.  Unusual situations are referred to the supervisor for advice and further instructions.  Supervisor reviews work to remain aware of progress, work methods, and technical accuracy.

Supervisory Responsibility:  Employee is not responsible for the regular supervision of any employees.

Confidentiality:  The employee may have regular access to confidential information such as client records.

Accountability:  Consequences of errors or poor judgment may include missed deadlines, personal injury, reduced levels of service, monetary loss, potential law suits, or adverse public relations.

Judgment:  Numerous standardized practices, procedures, or general instructions govern the work and in some cases, may require additional interpretation.   Judgment is needed to locate, select, and apply the most pertinent practice, procedure, regulation, or guideline.

Complexity:  Work consists of a variety of duties that generally follow standardized practices,

procedures, regulations, or guidelines.  The sequence of work and/or the procedures followed vary according to the nature of the transaction and/or the information involved, or sought, in a particular situation.

Work Environment:  A substantial portion of the work is performed outdoors at which time the employee is exposed to weather extremes.

Nature and Purpose of Relationships:  Relationships are primarily with co-workers and the public involving frequent explanation, discussion or interpretation of practices, procedures, regulations or guidelines in order to render service, plan or coordinate work efforts, or resolve operating problems.  Other regular contacts are with service recipients and employees of outside organizations.  Extraordinary courtesy, tact and diplomacy may be required to resolve complaints or deal with uncooperative persons.

Occupational Risk:  Duties generally do not present occupational risk to the employee provided that the Employee complies with all safety protocols and established procedures in accomplishing the duties of the position.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Conducts site evaluation inspections to collect necessary data for establishing and updating appraisals of residential real estate and business properties; takes measurements and photographs, verifies data and records, and creates a record of each property using automated programs, and prepares reports as required.
• Gathers all characteristics of the property as required by the Board of Assessors valuation model; verifies property ownership, parcel identification, land area, deed reference and valuation with banks, mortgage companies, real estate brokers/appraisers, owners and the general public.
• Reviews new building materials as they pertain to building permits issued by the Building Department.
• Evaluates information gathered to determine a true market value for each real estate property reviewed.
• Reviews real estate properties as they are sold on the real estate market; reviews all components on the property card as vacant and improved to insure fair market value.
• Maintains and updates records, database, and files of information for the department.
• Assists the public by responding to questions about their assessments and reviews property record cards with property owners to clarify or update data.
• Attends training courses and seminars in order to maintain knowledge of assessing rules, regulations and techniques.
• Performs a range of office support duties including but not limited to the filing of papers, answering telephones and filling out elderly abatement forms etc.

Required Minimum Qualifications:

Education and Experience:  Must possess a High School Diploma or equivalent and one to three (1-3) years work experience in an Assessor’s Office or in Real Estate related work.

Special Requirements:  Valid Class II Motor Vehicle Operator’s License.

Knowledge, Abilities and Skills Required:

Knowledge: General knowledge of State laws relating to real estate assessment, abatement and excise tax state laws, policies, practices, and procedures of the department, recordkeeping and administration, and automated procedures.  Familiarity with real estate styles, materials, and methods of building construction.

Abilities:   Ability to interact effectively and appropriately with the public and other personnel, maintain accurate and detailed records, perform work under time sensitive deadlines and to perform multiple tasks. Ability to access the internet to obtain information in support of department operations.  Ability to use custom tax assessment software as well as other office software applications.  Ability to effectively schedule duties and prioritize work in order to complete required tasks in a timely and organized manner.  Ability to read and interpret blueprints.

Skills: Attention to details, organization, property assessment, public relations, and written and oral communication skills.  Aptitude for working with numbers and details.  Excellent customer service skills.

Physical and Mental Requirements: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills:  Work requires some agility and physical strength, such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain, or sitting, hearing, standing or walking most of the work period.

Motor Skills:  Position requires the application of basic motor skills for activities such as reaching with hands and arms in picking up paper, files and other common office objects as well as operating a personal computer, a digital camera, a telephone, measuring tape and all appraising/assessing equipment, or a motor vehicle.

Visual Skills: The employee is routinely required to read documents, computer screens, and reports for understanding.  The employee is rarely required to determine color differences.

Application Information

Application Submission:

Applications must be submitted online at www.danbury-ct.gov/employment.   Qualified applicants must submit an application no later than 11:59 pm, Monday, February 12th, 2024 EEO/M/F/D/V   

Important Note:  Paper applications will not be accepted. 

The application must be completed in its entirety.  Omissions, false, misleading or inaccurate information will result in rejection of the application.

It is recommended that applicants do not wait until the last day to submit the application. Applications should be completed as soon as possible after publication of the announcement for examination.

Please contact the Human Resources/Civil Service Department at (203) 797-4598 or humanresources@danbury-ct.gov if you need assistance or if you have any general questions.

1.  Application Review
The Civil Service Commission is responsible for reviewing the applications to determine if     they are complete and meet the minimum requirements for the position.  The Commission   will review all the applications for the position during their monthly meeting following the   closing date of the position.

If an application is accepted by the Civil Service Commission, then the applicant will be notified in writing and will be informed of the next step in the process.  If the Commission does not accept an application, the applicant will also be notified in writing.

2.  Testing
Once an application is accepted by the Civil Service Commission, the applicant will be     notified in writing of the next steps in the testing process.   Each test phase must be passed in order to continue to the next level of the selection process.  The examination for this position will consist of the following parts:

PARTS                                 WEIGHT
ORAL EXAM                           100%

It is the applicant’s responsibility to adhere to the City’s testing schedule.  Unless otherwise stated, there will be no make-up examinations or alternative examination dates.

If an applicant fails the test, the applicant will be immediately eliminated from consideration for this hiring process.

Oral Test Date:   *week of March 4th, 2024
Test Time:           By Appointment
Test Location:     Danbury City Hall- HR Department 3rd Floor
155 Deer Hill Avenue, Danbury CT 06810

*Exam date may be subject to change

Unless otherwise notified, applicants are not permitted to bring and/or use calculators, electronic devices, books or other reference materials during the examinations).

Reasonable Accommodations in the testing process: 

All requests for reasonable accommodations in the testing process along with medical documentation establishing the need for the accommodation must be submitted to the City of Danbury Human Resources Department no later than the closing date of applications.

3.  The Eligibility List

A passing average score of “70” on the above test will place an applicant on the Eligibility List in rank order.  The rank on this list is established according to the scores on the exam(s) indicated above plus any additional applicable veterans and/or residency points awarded. The resulting list is then certified by the Civil Service Commission and will be used to fill vacancies as they occur, as per Civil Service Rules.

If the list is not exhausted, it remains in effect for one year.  However, the Commission can decide to extend an eligibility list for one additional year.

Participation in the testing and recruitment process and/or placement on an eligibility list does not guarantee a continuance in the remainder of the hiring process nor does it imply or constitute an offer of employment.

4.  Additional Testing Requirements

Once the eligibility list is certified, depending on the number of vacancies, candidates with the highest ranking on the list will be interviewed by a panel of City Officials.  As future positions become available, applicants are interviewed from this list based on their ranking for as long as the list is active.

Those candidates selected through the panel interview will continue in the selection process by participating in an additional series of testing which may include but is not limited to background checks, drug screens, medical physical, etc.  Once again, each test phase must be passed in order to continue to the next level of the testing process.  If any one of the test phases is not passed, the candidate will be immediately eliminated from consideration for this hiring process and subsequently removed from the eligibility list.