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Town of Mashpee ?�„" SELECTMENlc�sh>><r�, kruascrr7tuactt5 t1?69 COPIED ASSESSING DEPARTMENT Hours 8:30—4:30 Monday through Friday PHONE# (508) 539-1400 EXT. 529 FAX#(508) 539-1405 May 5, 2005 Town of Mashpee Office of the Selectmen 16 Great Neck Road,North Mashpee,MA 02649 Dear Honorable Members of the Board of Selectmen; We wish to express our discomfort that a member of the Board of Assessors spoke in favor of a measure to remove the stipend for the Board of Assessors and the subsequent passage of that measure. We can say with - certainty that the Board member in question did not have the consensus or approval to speak for the rest of the board on this issue. The members of the Board of Assessors are required by the Commonwealth to attain certification to carry out their duties. This requires a time commitment of six to eight weeks minimum of attending part time night classes or a full week of all day classes, usually at a significant distance. Failure for a community to have a majority of its board of assessors qualified to classify property, could place the process of setting the tax rate at risk and therefore jeopardize the collection of any revenue. • We mention the above to help place into perspective the need to have either dedicated real estate professionals on the Board of Assessors or citizens who are willing and able to make the commitment to achieve the level of specialized education required._This is in addition to the amount of enormous responsibility required of the Board of Assessors by Commonwealth Statute. This Board is responsible for the general direction and lawful operations of the office. The ability of any town government to attract qualified candidates to its Board of Assessors is paramount to a municipality's smooth operation and financial health. A board of assessors with just two members can operate smoothly and effectively for an extended period and even though we are dedicated to our responsibilities,should the unlikely circumstance ever arise that there is more than one vacancy on the board,it could have a paralytic effect on Mashpee and its revenue. The stipend,while recognizing the enormity of responsibility and technical skill required, also allowed some members to have health insurance that they could not otherwise reasonably obtain and even more importantly allowed financial contributions and credits toward time served with the Barnstable County Retirement Plan. These crucial benefits will now be lost. These few points are among the myriad of reasons that towns have traditionally offered stipends to their boards of assessors. We would ask that you consider rescinding the measure removing the monetarily insignificant but otherwise very important stipend to the Board of Assessors. Respectfully,. • Heather Noyes Jason R. Streebel Board:of Assessors Board of Assessors 16 Great Neck Road North • Mashpee, MA+ 02649 Phone:508.539.1400 Ext. 529• Fax:508.539.1405 • email:assessino(Ci),ci.mashoee.ma.us w .ci.mashpee.ma.us.