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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1972-01-05-APPOINT-min.pdf COMMITTEE TO REVIEW APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES MEETING OF JANUARY 5, 1972 The meeting was called to order in the absence of the Chairman at 7 :45 P.M. by Mr. Burrell. Present were Frank T. Parrish, Jr,A, Arthur Burrell, Patricia K. Hagedorn, John T. art Harvell, George F. McCormack, Stephen Politi, Samuel Silverman and Weiant Wathan-Dunn. Mr. Willard P. Grush, Chairman of the Board of Assessors, was present. Mr. Grush indicated that he was elected by the members of the Board to be its Chairman, that he has served on the Board of Assessors for 10 years and that he is in his third appointment. By way of background, he is euloyed by R. M. Bradley as head of its appraisal division, 'Ehe other members of the Board of Assessors are Mr. William Smith, who is a vice-president of Niles Co. , and particularly interested in management, develpment and appraisal of income properties, and Mr. William Potter, who is a long-time resident of Lexington. Lexington has three part-time assessors, approximately 10, 000 parcels of land, and one full-time assistant (Mr. Neil Cronin) . The members of the Board were appointed by the Board of Selectmen but are now appointed by the Town Manager. Mr. Grush was re-appointed by the Town Manager but he indicated that he would prefer that the Selectmen be involved in the appointment of the Assessors . He believes that professional experience is necessary and that it should be used where it is available on the Board of Assessors. The Board is responsible for the motor vehicle excise tax, the personal property tax, and at times acts as a sort of ifare Board in that it can refuse to abate or it may abate in hardship cases, the real estate tax. The personal property tax is important with respect to the Algonquin Gas, Shell Oil, Edison and the Telephone Company. The assessors in Lexington provide their own expert testimony in appeal cases before the Appellate Tax Board. Mr. Grush feels that it ' s important to have different philosophies on the Board but that if it is for the benefit of the Town they can come to agreement. The length of service on the Board, he believes, should be at a maximum because he feels experience is more valuable than new blood . He indicated that when vacancies have come up in the past he has made several recommendations to the Board of Selectmen, who were the appointing authority at that time, as to qualified people to serve. Mr . Grush indicated that the Master Tax Plan would require that Assessors have professional training. He indicated that all of the present Board would qualify under that Plan. The Committee thanked Mr. Grush for coming and meeting with us. The next visitor was Mr. Walter O' Connell, the Town Manager, the chief executive of the town. It is his belief that if the Town Manager is responsible for the function, for example: the assessment of the taxes and the collection of them, then the Town Manager should be responsible for the appointment to the Board. The area in which the Assessors make policy is very limited and defined. Mr. O' Connell indicated that the schedule under which the Assessors work may be changed by the Town Manager in order to work better with other depart- ments and groups within the town. He feels this is one reason why the Board of Assessors should be appointed by the Town Manager. The Recreation Committee has policy and planning is its primary responsibility. The operation and implementation of the policy is really in the Recreation Department. He is not certain that the appointments to this Committee should be by the Town Manager. The Comptroller, on the other hand, is highly operational and his policy is defined by statute. But because of the check and balance requirement he is not appointed by the Town Manager. Town Counsel is involved in both policy and operational work. (Policy, if you are to include interpretations of the statute) . Mr. O' Connell was asked how you determine the pool of people you would use in looking for a member of the Board of Assessors. His response was as follows : You would establish criterior for Board members to carry out their duties . (1) Knowledge of the real estate field and assessing practice; (2) objective person in terms of his thinking; (3) the ability to learn quickly; (4) balance for the Committee as a whole because a representative cross-section of the whole town should be sought, (5) Time availability to do the job and then (6) it should be someone who is respected in the town, of high reliability, and high integrity. Mr. O' Connell indicated that he thought too much longevity, however, could be too much. The question of civil service within the town was discussed briefly and dismissed as not recommended . Mr. O' Connell indicated that he thought the Planning Board should be appointed and the Board of Appeals should be elected. Mr. O' Connell was thanked for coming to talk with the Committee. The Committee then considered how its report would be presented to the annual Town Meeting. (1) No one present was in favor of amending the Town Manager Act. Mr. Silverman suggested that the Town Meeting should have a Committee appointed by the Town Meeting to enlarge the pool from which to select appointees so as to get the broadest participation, that there should be a Screening Committee which operates as a selection group and also as an advertising group. Mr. McCormack agreed with Sam. Mr. Politi stated we did not need another formal Committee, he thought we should use the Town Meeting Members Association executive committee and that the Selectmen could carry out part of this Committee' s recommendation. Mr. Burrell asked what was the need for such a screening Committee. VOTr:ii: five opposed to a formal Article setting up a committee of the Town Meeting; two in favor of a formal Article to establish a Committee. It was then proposed that the rules of the Town Meeting be waived so that the sense of the Town Meeting could be obtained. (For example: it could be resolved that in order to aid in the appointing procedure the following should be sought- a large qualified pool of candidates annually; the vacancies to be available should be publicized in a timely way before appointments are made. VOTED: that the Committee not put an Article on the Warrant which would require a vote of the Town Meeting on the recommendations of this Committee. It seemed the sense of this Committee that we would like to recommend that the Town Meeting Members Association establish a committee to consider making nominations for appointment to the appointing bodies, that they consider an advisory role in the suggestion of names, the Board of Selectmen consider taking a publicity role so as to make known what appointments are available, and that there be a review of re-appointments. The meeting adjourned at 11 P.M.