This wouldn’t be the first time Natick resident Kathryn Pierce has sat on a Framingham board. Three years she was appointed by Spicer, and at that time she was already serving in that capacity. Pierce has never lived in Framingham. We believed in 2019, the last time this came up, as well as now, that the out of town assessor board member must go.
ABOUT THE BOARD OF ASSESSORS
The City of Framingham Board of Assessors consists of three members. These members are appointed by the Mayor and subject to confirmation by the City Council. Members of the Board of Assessors serve three year terms and require reappointment by the Mayor and confirmation by the City Council. Vacancies occurring in the Board may be filled in the same manner, but only for the unexpired term.
Under the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws, Chapters 58 to 65C, the Board of Assessors fall under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Revenue who may revise rules, regulations, and guidelines, as deemed necessary to establish minimum standards of assessment performance.
Before assessment values, new growth, and tax rates are set, they must be certified by the Department of Revenue on an annual basis. Every three years, the Department of Revenue will send an audit team to the City. The audit team will evaluate the methods used by the Board of Assessors in order for the City to be certified for revaluation.
Q: Why does this even matter?
A: For one, no other city or town in Massachusetts has an out-of-municipality member on their board.
Q: Maybe its because we are smarter than every other city and town…
A: It was the 1980’s and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) was concerned about the performance of the Framingham Board of Assessors and to rectify this the board of selectmen had to enter into an agreement with the DOR to reform the board. There was difficulty obtaining skilled candidates for the board and the selectmen decided to remove the residency requirements. Since then the Board of Assessors has actually not been residents, with occasional exceptions.
Q: So what…
A: The board of assessors primary responsibility is to find the “full and fair cash value” of your property, so that you may pay only your fair share of the taxes. Do you want someone who isn’t affected by these calculations determining your value? Do you want someone who is immune to the result of valuation calculation for Framingham to make decisions that affect thousands and thousands of people?
Q: Why should we fix it now?
A: Because of improprieties taken and poor decisions made by the assessing board 30 years ago, and the inability to find qualified individuals at that time to replace a perhaps corrupt board, a change was made to the requirements. We are now a large city of 70,000 and we have plenty of well educated people who can adequately serve in the role and even meet the requirements set forth by the DOR for qualifications. Heck, in Gill, Massachusetts, a town of just under 1,500 people, they fully staff their board of assessors with 3 people who meet the DOR’s requirements and who live in Gill.
All municipalities in Massachusetts are required to have a board of assessors which function in a manner dictated by the state DOR. We researched 43 cities and towns across the state, some as large as Boston and others with populations under 1000. All of the Boards of Assessors we researched required that members must be residents.
On June 21, our council’s appointment subcommittee – has the opportunity to bring the determination of values and appeals hearings on such matters back to a board of our peers. Alternatively, we can keep letting non-residents make decisions on matters of tax assessments, excise tax vehicle valuations, etc, decisions that affect the bottom lines of Framingham residents, but have zero effect on the non-resident assessment board members.
Please consider sending an email to the full council and ask them to reconsider approving this appointment: CityCouncil@framinghamma.gov
The decision will be made soon! Be heard!
