Question 2 Would Shift How Assessors Are Chosen

Any other year, Question 2 would likely take center stage on April 2, as voters decide whether the board of assessors should be appointed rather than elected.

Question 1, whether the town should approve an $8.4 million operating override, has consumed most of the conversational space, leaving the assessor question an afterthought.

Assessors determine the value of a town’s real and personal property to calculate fiscal year tax rates. When elected, they must pass state training. According to the town, the assessors appraise about 8,000 parcels in Belmont.

In January, Town Meeting members voted 156-87 to bring the question to the ballot. It began life as a citizen petition from Precinct 8 member Angus Abercrombie.

If it passes, the assessor will become the latest position shifted from elected to appointed. Last year, the town opted to change its treasurer from elected to appointed.

In January, Select Board Vice Chair Elizabeth Dionne said the proposed move would make Belmont’s town government more “transparent, efficient, and cooperative.”

At the same time, Board of Assessors Chair Robert Reardon called the effort “a solution looking for a problem.”

In 2002, a report on the town’s financial structure by the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management, recommended the town improve government by shifting the treasurer and assessors to appointed positions to foster closer coordination between town financial functions.

According to the state Division of Local Services, the benefits of moving local officials from elected to appointed include a wider candidate pool of people with relevant professional experience. It also provides the opportunity for the town to define job requirements and reporting structure.

“There is nothing an appointed board can do that an elected board can’t do,” Reardon said.

Reardon, who has served on the board since 2005, said he sees no compelling reason to change what the board has been doing all these years.

“We have some of the most qualified people available,” he said.

Treasurer

In 2023, Belmont voted to move the treasurer position from elected to appointed. The move came as Floyd Carman, who had served for 18 years, decided to retire.

The measure, which was discussed at length at Town Meeting before being placed on the ballot, passed 4,270-1,821.