Study group on assessor's office takes shape


NORTH EAST — The Town Board adopted a set of suggestions from Councilman Dan Briggs during its meeting April 12 to help propel the newly formed study group on the assessor’s office into action.

"We wanted to look at what the tasks of the committee should be," Briggs said. "The intention is that this group is a short-lived committee that will be very focused because this board will make some decisions as far as budgeting. We’ll look at manpower and dollars. I think that enables this board the best way to look at this situation and to move forward."

Town Supervisor Dave Sherman suggested the committee meet at Town Hall.

"I would treat these as being public meetings, with the board adopting this as an outline on how to proceed," Sherman said. "To get things started we have to have a very ambitious time frame here."

Briggs suggested that the study group will work off of a few basic ideas the Town Board has agreed upon, which include the following: The assessor for North East will be an elected single assessor as it is not possible to go back to a three assessor board and there is enough support in the community for the assessor to continue to be an elected position. A reassessment needs to be done as soon as possible. The Town Board expects that property cards will be updated and verified by the end of 2007.

The tasks that Briggs outlined for the committee included: deciding upon a time of operation for the assessor’s office; making sure of space availability; striking a balance between internally run assessments and hired outside contractors; suggesting a proposed frequency of revaluation; and determining a reasonable expectation of time to achieve the above goals.

According to Briggs, the group must also be willing to do certain other tasks. These are: review setup of assessor’s office and compare that to the assessor’s office in four to five neighboring communities; hold a discussion of what may work best in the town of North East; review its options (either in-house or with outside consultant); and report back to the Town Board on its findings.

In terms of a timetable, Briggs is looking for a progress report at the May 3 workshop, a preliminary report at the June 7 workshop and a final report at the June 14 business meeting.

"I think we should go with it," Councilman Dave McGhee said. "If the committee has anything to add to it, they can."

Sherman asked Assessor Jon Barrett to make himself available to the study group should its members look for his assistance. The board then unanimously adopted Brigg’s recommendations.

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