HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-18 Board of Assessors MinutesTown of Reading
Meeting Minutes
Board - Committee - Commission - Council:
Board of Assessors
Date: 2014 -11 -18 Time: 7:00 PM
Building: Reading Town Hall Location:
Address: 16 Lowell Street
Purpose: General Business
Attendees: Members - Present:
Francis Golden & Robert J. Quinn, Jr.
Members - Not Present:
Robert N. Marshall
Others Present:
Victor Santaniello
Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Robert J. Quinn Jr.
Topics of Discussion:
.:�-CEIVED
-AWN CLERK
jlI ".PR 30 A It: 20
THIS MEETING WAS HELD IN THE ASSESSORS OFFICE, 2nd Floor TOWN HALL.
PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED.
Page 1 1
NOVEMBER 18, 2014 CONTINUATION SHEET
CALL TO ORDER:
Chairman Golden called the meeting to order at 7 PM. The Board last met on October 14, 2014.
1. APPOINTMENTS:
None.
2. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S):
No vote was taken on the draft minutes for Board's October 14, 2014 meeting because two votes
are required for approval and Mr. Golden was not present for that meeting.
3. TOWN APPRAISER'S REPORT:
The FY 2015 Tax Classification Hearing was held on October 28, 2014. The Board of Selectmen
voted to retain the single tax rate. They also chose not to adopt the Open Space Discount, the
Residential Exemption or the Small Commercial Exemption. In short, there were no substantive
tax policy changes from the previous year.
MADOR has approved a FY 2015 tax rate of $14.70/mil. This was slightly lower than the
previous estimate of $14.71 /mil. Santaniello attributed the $0.01 difference to rounding. Only
some minor "housekeeping items" still need to be attended to with respect to FY 2015.
The Tax Collector is expected to mail the Actual FY 2015 Tax Bills before year end, probably
around the 3`d week in December.
4. OTHER SIGNINGS:
The Board signed routine Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Abatements totaling $10,315.69 ($5,452.03
+ $4,845.74 + $17.92)
The Board also signed 2014 Motor Vehicle Excise Tax Commitment #6, totaling $52,652.07.
5. NEW BUSINESS:
Quinn noted that the space formerly occupied by the Macaroni Grill on Walker's Brook Drive is
now vacant and has apparently been so for several weeks. In addition, Sanborn Place has
announced that it is attempting to purchase the property at 36 Woburn Street for use as an adult
day health center. Sanborn expects to complete the transaction in early 2015 if its efforts prove
successful.
The "realignment" of the Board was again deferred until its members are all present for the vote.
6. CHARTER REVIEW:
The Reading Charter Review Committee has recommended that the Board of Assessors be
appointed by the Board of Selectmen under the new charter. It is understood that such a change,
if adopted, would not have any practical effect until 2016 when Golden's current three year term
of office expires.
The Town Manager has asked this Board to comment on the proposed change.
Santaniello read the existing (under Article 3) and proposed language (under Article 4). There is
a transition rule, under which previously elected Board members would be allowed to continue
in office until the end of their respectiv6 terms after which time they could seek reappointment.
Golden and Santaniello then discussed their experiences (good and bad) serving on or working
with different Boards in multiple communities over many years. Golden noted that each member
of the Beverly and Watertown Board of Assessors receive annual stipends of $8,000 and $5,000,
respectively. The members of these boards are appointed to their posts. On the other hand, the
members of the Wakefield Board of Assessors are elected to their posts and, as in Reading,
receive no compensation.
Quinn had prepared a memorandum which he handed to Golden and Santaniello for review and
comment. Both concluded that the memorandum fairly reflected their own views on the subject.
A copy of this memorandum is appended hereto.
In the opinion of all those present, the members of the Reading Board of Assessors should be
vetted and appointed by the Board of Selectmen under the new charter in order to ensure the
seating of qualified individuals.
The problem that remains is how to expand the pool of qualified applicants willing to serve on a
volunteer basis. It was not known whether the new charter would limit Board membership to
Reading residents only.
Golden noted that all new Board members are required to complete a three day course 101
offered by MADOR within a prescribed time frame.
A motion by Quinn seconded by Golden that the Board endorse and otherwise support the
recommendations of the Reading Charter Review Committee in this matter was approved by a
vote of 2 -0 -0.
7. CORRESPONDENCE:
None.
8. NEXT MEETING:
The next meeting will likely be held some time in January 2015.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion by Quinn seconded by Golden to adjourn at 7:51 PM was approved by a vote of 2 -0 -0.
CHARTER REVIEW — BOB QUINN' S COMMENTS.
INTRODUCTION:
I understand that the Reading Charter Review Committee
( "CRC ") has unanimously recommended that the Board of
Assessors ( "Board" or "BOA ") be appointed by the Board of
Selectmen ( "BOS ") under the new charter.
The Town Manager has requested this Board to comment on the
proposed change.
The following are my personal views on this subject and are not
necessarily those of my fellow BOA members, Victor or his staff.
BACKGROUND:
It should be noted that a similar proposal to amend Reading's
Charter came before Town Meeting in 2011 in the form of Article
22. As I recall, the Town Manager would have appointed the
members of the BOA had this article been approved by Town
Meeting.
The proponents of Article 22 argued that the election process
itself may discourage qualified individuals from serving on the
BOA. I believe this to be true. They also correctly noted the
technical nature of the Board's work and the difficulty in filling
past vacancies.
However, Town Meeting overwhelmingly rejected Article 22,
opting instead to preserve the "independence" of the Board of
Assessors through the continued direct election of its members.
In the three years since, the membership of the BOA (as well as
the BOS) has changed completely. The election results follow:
In 2012, I won the seat of a retiring Board member with 1,916
votes. My opponent received 1,733 votes. There were 4,157
ballots cast; voter turn-out was 24.5 %. I am not aware of any
other contested election for a seat on Reading's BOA.
In 2013, Frank Golden won the seat of a retiring Board member
with eleven (11) write -in votes. The runner -up had four (4). There
were 3,207 ballots cast; voter turn -out was 18.2 %.
In 2014, Bob Marshall won the seat of another retiring Board
member with a write -in campaign that netted him thirty four (34)
votes. The runner -up had six (6). There were 4,468 ballots cast;
voter turn-out was 25.0 %.
Mr. Golden and Mr. Marshall are both experienced assessing
professionals; one would be very hard pressed to find anyone
more qualified and willing to serve on the Board.
Even so, together they netted 0.6% of the total votes cast in the
previous two elections. I'd argue that they were "elected" only in
a symbolic sense.
MY PERSONAL OPINION:
I fully support CRC's recommendation that the Board of
Assessors be appointed by the Board of Selectmen (an elected
body). My hope is that the BOS would consult with the
continuing BOA members during the appointment process.
I understand that the members of FINCOM and other committees
requiring specific technical expertise are currently vetted and
appointed by BOS. I don't see any compelling reason why the
BOA should be treated any differently.
Under a related proposal, the Town Manager would appoint the
appraiser, subject to the approval of the BOA. I understand that
the Town Manager currently appoints the Police and Fire Chiefs,
in a similar fashion, subject to the approval of the BOS.
I also support this approach. I believe that the Town Manager is
much better positioned to access the Town resources (HR,
procurement, legal etc.) needed to efficiently vet potential
candidates, especially in the context of current and potential
future cost sharing arrangement(s) with other towns.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Quinn, Jr.
November 18, 2014