Select Board Chooses Assessor, Defers Decision on Second Board Member

With a unanimous show of support, the Select Board appointed Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Daniel Barry to the Board of Assessors for a term expiring in 2026.

The decision was less straightforward for the board’s second candidate, Precinct 7 Town Meeting member Ira Morgenstern, who sought the second of two open seats on the board.

“I would like more time to think about this; I’m not ready to make a motion to nominate [Morgenstern],” said Select Board Vice Chair Matt Taylor.

That sentiment was echoed by member Roy Epstein.

In the end, the board opted not to vote on Morgenstern’s appointment, delaying the decision on the third assessor.

Maryann Lynch submitted her resume but withdrew it after briefly meeting with the board Monday night. While she had prior experience on a Board of Assessors in Maine, she deferred to the experience presented by Morgenstern and Barry.

Earlier this summer, the last two elected members of the Board of Assessors, Robert Readeron and Charles Laverty, resigned. They submitted their notices on June 28 and July 1, respectively.

In April, voters passed Question 2, shifting the Board of Assessors from elected to an appointed position. After passing on election night by 11 votes, a recount narrowed that margin to four votes.

Under state law, Reardon and Laverty were entitled to serve the balance of their elected terms. Laverty’s term would have ended in 2025 and Reardon’s in 2026.

In his introduction to the board, Morgenstern said the Board of Assessors and Assessor’s office needed to be “revitalized and redirected.”

“My background is in change management, so I have faced this kind of challenge before, and I look forward to applying those skills,” he said.

He said the town hasn’t generated the cash Belmont needs. He focused on the potential to grow payment in lieu of tax (PILOT) programs. Morgenstern said his background in negotiations would serve this goal well.

“I’d like to get most of our cash from not-for-profits or people that have tax deals, but I think an outlier analysis goes to the issue of fairness,” he said. “I’d really like to spend a lot of time there, and I know how to pressured his team probably is, so I’m willing to lead this effort.”

Epstein expressed some concern for Morgenstern’s leadership approach. He asked whether Morgenstern would support Dan Dargon as chair and if Dargon was interested in the role. Having not met Dargon, he responded that he couldn’t answer the question.

Taylor said that after meeting with Morgenstern, he had more questions than he did when going into the interview.

“I mean it in a very genuine way, I’d like to process what you’ve said,” Taylor said. “Ira is a big, organized thinker … I think you’re a can-do, how do we make it better, change-driver, but I’m also worried about a clash and some of the things we’ve danced around in this conversation: Can we defer to the town administration in terms of reporting hierarchy and setting the tone and managing priorities? Who’s going to be the chair of the board; those kinds of things.”

Dionne said in fairness to her colleagues that she was more familiar with Morgenstern than Epstein and Taylor.

“We have a board that now has a quorum of two experienced assessors,” Epstein said. “I think we have a little time now to see whether other candidates wish to be considered, and we can make a decision at some later date.”

EDC

Despite Taylor’s objections, Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Marie Warner was reappointed to serve a two-year term on the Economic Development Committee.

Comments from Taylor were met with pushback.

“[Warner ] is an upstanding member of the economic development committee,” said Paul Joy, chair of the committee, in response to Taylor’s concerns about Warner. “It is a responsibility to gather voices and individuals from across the political spectrum in Belmont.”

Warner is vice president of Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont, a non-partisan nonprofit that aims to “increase accountability, responsibility, and transparency in all aspects of town government.”

“I’m not criticizing a particular political party,” Taylor said, emphasizing that it wasn’t about her political views differing from his. Rather, he had concerns about the spread of misinformation he attributed to the group.

Town Moderator Mike Widmer spoke on Warner’s behalf.

“I regularly check with the chairs of the committees and other committee members about how various committee members are performing, and Marie has gotten very high marks for her non-partisan analysis of departments and the town’s budget situation,” Widmer said. “She is a respected member of the committee.”

Responding to Taylor’s concerns about her affiliation with Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont, Warner said she represents diversity of opinion in the pursuit of a common goal.

“I categorically challenge you to indicate where I have been divisive,” she said. “My affiliation with an organization that does bring a different voice to Belmont should not be used as a reason why I cannot participate.”

Ultimately, Warner was appointed to serve a two-year term with two votes in support and one abstention from Taylor. Jack Sy and Wendy Etkind were also reappointed, along with newcomers Jeffrey Broderick and Hayley Denker. All were appointed to serve two-year terms.

Planning Board

Thayer Dunham (2-year term), Taylor Yates (3-year term), and Rui “Renee” Guo (3-year term) were all reappointed to the Planning Board Monday night. Alyssa Gardner Todreas was appointed by a vote of 2-1 to serve a two-year term.

Jeffrey Birenbaum, whose term was expected to expire last year, was not reappointed. He served as chair of the board until Monday night.

“Jeff has my strong support,” Dionne said prior to the vote. “I’ve seen him work very hard, and I will also say I’m deeply uncomfortable with the fact we let not just this appointment, but a number of appointments, go for a year without reappointing people. It was enormously disrespectful to not reappoint people, to let them serve at the Select Board’s will, is not how the town’s charter is set up.”

Birenbaum said he has no “ill will.”

“It’s not a popularity contest,” he said. “I believe I’ve served to the best of my ability and capacity.”