The Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers, Inc. (CAAO) is a professional organization that is affiliated with the International Association of Assessing Officers. CAAO is comprised of over 400 regular and subscribing members. Regular membership is open to all State of Connecticut public officials who are engaged in the administration of property assessments, including assessors, employees of assessors’ offices and board of assessment appeals members. Subscribing membership is open to individuals or companies interested in property assessment or a related field.
The mission of CAAO is to improve the standards of assessment practices within the State of Connecticut. To that end, the organization publishes a quarterly newsletter (the Assessoreporter) and the . CAAO is also closely involved in the Annual School for Assessors and Boards of Assessment Appeals, at which all the courses that are prerequisites for assessor certification are offered. If there is sufficient demand for a particular course, it can be offered at another time of the year. Additionally, CAAO’s sponsors various educational symposiums and workshops for assessors who are already certified.
Connecticut is divided into ; these are the major units of local government in the state. The entire area of Connecticut is included within the boundaries of these towns and cities.
Towns and cities provide various services (e.g., public school education, police and fire protection, public road maintenance, and etc.) to their taxpayers. To a large extent, these services are financed by the property tax.
Lesser taxing districts exist in some towns and cities. A lesser taxing district (such as a borough, a fire district or a sewer district) provides services to taxpayers that are not provided by the town or city in which the district is located.