Third Member Appointed to Board of Assessors

After last month’s delay, the Select Board has named Anthony Leccese to serve as the third member of the Board of Assessors.

Leccese will serve an eight-month term to expire on April 1, 2025. He will join Precinct 6 Town Meeting member Daniel Barry, who was appointed last month, and Dan Dargon, who was appointed in May.

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.

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

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.

The board voted unanimously this week to place Leccese on the Board of Assessors, but not before Select Board Chair Elizabeth Dionne noted her support for Belmont resident Ira Morgenstern, who applied to the Select Board at their meeting two weeks ago. Board members, however, opted to delay the appointment of the third member in favor of time to digest their interview with Morgenstern, and to allow time for additional candidates to apply.

It was in that time frame that Leccese expressed his interest in the position to the Select Board. Belmont resident Tommasina Olson also submitted a letter of interest.

Select Board member Roy Epstein said it was important the members of the board have a “judicial temperament” — a quality he felt Lucchese had demonstrated while serving on previous town committees.

“That’s how you truly get the confidence of the residents and for that, I think, Tony … has great experience on the Zoning Board of Appeals, where that’s exactly what they did,” Epstein said. “They conducted hearings of appeals. He’s actually a very judicious person.”

As for Morgenstern, Epstein expressed some concern for his leadership approach, and his focus on pursuing PILOT programs.

Vice Chair Matt Taylor said he was swayed by Leccese’s experience in real estate and zoning.

“We can’t have that level of technical competence slip at all,” he said.