C. Mass. towns starve for reliable assessors
By jeffrey t. lavery
When Harald Scheid moved into his role as assessor for the town of Ashby, the Town Hall was closed, the board of assessors was dispersed and tax revenues were non-existent. Though the town is once again fully operational, its situation represents the norm rather than the exception.
A shortage of qualified assessors has hit towns like Ashby, and concerns over the cost of hiring a full-time assessor for small municipalities with limited budgets creates an audience desperate for individuals like Scheid, who launched his own firm offering regional assessment services."Every community I’ve come to has been in a crisis situation," says Scheid, founder of Regional Resource Group, Ashby, "and we’ve had to bail them out."
Regional systems meet deadlines
For the big towns with deep pockets, hiring a full-time assessor remains a viable option. However, full-time means health insurance, benefits and mileage compensation, fees that smaller towns often can’t swing on their dime. Combined with a lack of assessment courses at local institutions and a limited talent pool, finding the right person for the job remains a problem for most.
"You don’t go to college to become an assessor," says Marilyn Browne, chief of the Bureau of Local Assessments. "It’s something people fall into."
Services like those offered by Regional Resource Group remain a bright spot for many area towns. Initially involved with the state’s only regional assessing department, the now-defunct coalition of Ashby, Lunenburg and Townsend shared Scheid for their assessment duties. Despite the break-up of the northern towns, the model inspired Scheid to provide a service around the regional concept.
By offering an all-inclusive contract that includes salary, benefits and insurance, Scheid relieves his clients of those added costs. As an added benefit, he and his 9-person crew have a revolving schedule where they maintain a physical presence in each of the client towns the firm services: Ashby, Bolton, Devens, Lancaster, Lincoln, Lunenburg, Sterling and W. Boylston.
Scheid believes that by offering towns a lower price and a constant presence in the assessors’ office, his firm will be better equipped to handle inquiries from taxpayers as well as knowing every nook and cranny of the area. The goal: Provide the most accurate evaluation possible.
Other firms that provide assessments on an outsourced basis insist it’s not necessary to have a desk in the town office. "The service is provided regardless of where we are," says Kevin Comer, president of Northboro’s Vision Appraisal Technology.
Among other budget constraints, outlays for database software needed to track assessments often remain a wish for the smaller communities. Towns are finding a cost-effective option in resources such as the Community Software Consortium, formed to allow Massachusetts officials to share and/or jointly purchase equipment and services.
While various models exist to stretch resources, building a network of consultants to ensure on time filing of tax reports and revaluation remains the priority of the Department of Revenue, says Bureau chief Browne. "You’re not going to get fan mail for being an assessor," says Browne. "But we need to look at developing a pool of people who want to help."
Jeffrey T. Lavery can be reached at jlavery@wbjournal.com
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