That more people are attending Middleboro town meetings, paying greater attention to the function or dysfunction of town government, and that more people attended Candidates' Night than ever before is to be applauded. We're getting there as a town that is beginning to understand the importance of town government and involvement.
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Hopefully, that also means that voters are paying attention to the details, myths and misstatements of those involved.
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ComCast will post a schedule of when broadcasts of Candidates' Night will be possible and it's worth the watch.
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Allow some dalliances.
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I have long favored Quarterly Tax Billing for a number of reasons, first being that, if you have a mortgage, the escrow account is already there and it allows the payment to simply be forwarded from your bank. Instead of using the G&E cash flow to support the Town pending the receipt of the first real estate tax payments, it allows the Treasurer to invest the G&E funds for that duration.
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When the subject was previously discussed, the Town Assessor, Barbara Erikson stood before the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting and indicated that she would require additional personnel.
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No other town that has gone to Quarterly Tax Billing has required additional personnel in the Assessors' Department.
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The subsequent excuse was by the IT Director who protested the cost of additional personnel.
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During this evening's Candidates' Night, Barbara Erikson rose to indicate that the Town doesn't have the computer program to run Quarterly Tax Bills.
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Now, which is it, Ms. Erikson?
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Maybe she meant that the Town doesn't have a competent IT Director to figure out how to run the Quarterly Tax Bills because every other town seems to have figured out how to accomplish it. Would the be the same IT Director who defended the PTWS (Pathetic Town Web Site) for years?
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This is an issue that should be discussed based on its merit and voted on at Town Meeting. It shouldn't be an issue that is determined by various excuses that are tossed out without foundation.
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Can we begin running Middleboro based on facts and not excuses by some who seem unwilling?
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For the sake of full disclosure, I appealed Ms. Erikson's decision of property valuation to the Appellate Tax Board twice and won both times. Both of those times, Ms. Erikson wasted my tax dollars by employing the services of Town Counsel, even though the law seemed clear to me.
8 comments:
Another prime example of hiring and promoting incompetence. This is Middleborough. Did you expect anything different? She's probably related to someone.
All issues seem to revolve around the IT Director postponing progress in this town. Not sure if it's laziness or incompetence.
Every single assessing department in other towns actually sends a person out to measure your house, walk through the interior, except Middleborough. There are people who have improved their interiors, finished basements, added bathrooms and their assessments don't rise. They appreciate Ms. Ericksen. Computer savvy voters should review the assessments of elected officals and the 'in crowd.' They might just find Ms. Ericksen seems to make a lot of 'mistakes' on their assessments. Some day she'll get caught. You can only make just so many mistakes.
MR, you sure upset people by raising issues no one thinks about! My neighbors spent a fortune on the interior of their house by adding 2 baths, creating a wonderful entertainment area in their basement, putting a kitchen to die for in with marble countertops, an island, professional applliances. There asessment is the same as mine. Fair? Why do we pay these people?
Quarterly taxes should have been done years ago.
I thought no one else noticed what Barbara said. Glad you commented.
Will people ever pay attention to how poorly their town is run?
In what other town do you have to go to the assessors office look through many maps for abutters taking hours then PAY the department to sign YOUR WORK? I agree, Ms. Erickson is WELL AWARE of all the people that work for the town that have remodeled their homes, added rooms, renting basements, etc. she DOESN NOTHING ABOUT it. NOR does the MEMBERS of the BOARD OF ASSESSORS. They are blind when need be. Maybe, people should start sending letters to the state to have these OVERSIGHTS INVESTIGATED.
Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't Ms. Ericksons job on the line a few years back and they decided to keep her rather than face problems? Maybe it would have been less expensive to let her go then. She got more money, more benefits, etc. So, what's the story?
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