Jesse Floyd
Belmont Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman and her staff will recount the votes on Question 2 on Thursday, May 2.
The recount will take place in the Town Hall auditorium and is expected to take all day.
Question 2, whether the Board of Assessors should be appointed rather than elected, passed on April 2 by 11 votes, 4,239-4,228.
Any registered Belmont voter can request a recount within 10 days of the election. The petition for the recount was filed on April 12, and the signature verification was completed this week.
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.
With its passage, the Board of Assessors becomes the latest position shifted from elected to appointed. Last year, the town opted to change its treasurer from elected to appointed.
In 2022, the Edward J. Collins Jr. Center for Public Management’s report on the town’s financial structure recommended improving 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.
