ORDER-2022-13 : Appointment of Sarah MacLellan to serve as Chief Assessor for the City of Melrose

Transcript (~7 min @ 13:48)

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▶ 13:47 Leila Migliorelli: Great. So now the rules have been suspended. And the first order on our agenda tonight is Order 2022-13, Appointment of Sarah McClellan to serve as the Chief Assessor for the City of Melrose. I see Mayor Broder is here to speak and Ms. McClellan. So Mayor Broder, if you'd like to kick it off.

▶ 14:08 Paul Brodeur: madam chair and i will be brief because this is the second time miss mcclellan has appeared before you um last time was to consider her nomination to the board of assessors and this time uh as a former role as a department head as chief assessor uh nothing has changed except that she's got a little bit more of experience um she has uh certainly mastered the the finer points of the process and as you know i believe you all received from her earlier today a certification of our property tax growth for fy21 and the in the four years before that um so we we are happy to say we have not skipped a beat thus far and i hope that your experience bears that out as well and i ask for her confirmation this evening thank you thank you uh president snella uh at this time

▶ 15:08 Christopher Cinella: i would like to just motion um uh a recommendation uh to the full board of ms mcconnell's chief

▶ 15:20 Leila Migliorelli: assessor second okay so a motion to recommend has been made by president snella and seconded by counselor Jamaleddine on discussion counselor vice chair stewart a point of order uh

▶ 15:33 Robb Stewart: or Ms. Chair, do we want to offer an opportunity for Ms. McClellan to speak?

▶ 15:42 Leila Migliorelli: We can certainly do so. She is in the virtual room. Ms. McClellan, would you like to speak at

▶ 16:07 Leila Migliorelli: all about your appointment? I don't know if she can hear us. Ms. McClellan, can you hear us?

▶ 16:13 Speaker 2: She is, we're trying to get her in here. Okay. Mr. Clerk, is this with something on your end,

▶ 16:50 Speaker 2: or is it on her or i i don't know it says uh it gives me the opportunity to mute her but uh

▶ 17:03 Leila Migliorelli: she says that she's muted so i'm not sure okay um given that any question counselor Jamaleddine

▶ 17:09 Maya Jamaleddine: um considering pro you know possible having having that she is okay

▶ 17:17 Leila Migliorelli: No, I can't hear you, but we can see you. Still can't hear you, but we can see you, just so you know.

▶ 17:42 Speaker 5: Can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you now. Okay, okay. Thank you. Sorry about that. Okay, so thank you, Mayor Bruder, and thank you to the committee for your time this evening and for your consideration, again. I'm very grateful for this opportunity. As you may know, I've been working as the interim chief assessor in Melrose since June of this year. It's important for municipalities to consistently have an assessor in place. The assessor is responsible for determining the fair and equitable evaluation of all real and personal property in the city. We work with the Department of Revenue on certification of values, and we're responsible for setting the tax rate each year. During my time here as an assistant assessor, I worked and learned under the great mentorship of the previous chief assessor, Chris Wilcock. I took many training courses and assessment procedures and practices, and I earned my designation as a Massachusetts Accredited Assessor. This certification is a requirement of the Chief Assessor position. I also maintain active memberships with the Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers and the International Association of Assessing Officers. These organizations provide extensive education and training to assessors and also keep us updated on the changes in laws and best practices that apply to assessment and property tax. My main focus for the assessing department is to continuously provide excellent customer service to our residents and taxpayers. I realize that the citizens of Melrose come from every walk of life and many different backgrounds, so it's important to me to provide equitable service to the people who interact with our office. We regularly examine and refresh our best practices for customer service. I have registered recently to attend an effective leadership workshop next month, which is offered by the International Association of Assessing Officers. It's focused on building diversity, equity, and inclusion from a foundation of emotional intelligence. Another goal that I have for the department is to continuously improve our processes and the methods that we use to do our work. the pandemic created a challenge in the way that we conduct some of our regular operations. As you may recall, Chris Wilcock implemented technology solutions such as aerial mapping and the use of web-based services. I intend to continue identifying and implementing new technologies to improve the functions in our office and the services that we provide to the community. I really enjoy working with and serving the Melrose community. Having worked as the assistant assessor here for four years, having had the mentorship of Chris Wilcock, having achieved the technical training and certifications required, the chief assessor role is a natural next step for me. Again, thank you, and I'm very excited for this opportunity.

▶ 20:30 Leila Migliorelli: Thank you, Ms. McCollin. And there is a motion on the table to recommend. It's on discussion. Any counselors with questions for Ms. McCollin?

▶ 20:44 Leila Migliorelli: Seeing none, Mr. Clerk, could you take the roll?

▶ 20:48 Speaker 2: Chair Migliorelli.

▶ 20:50 Speaker 1: Yes.

▶ 20:52 Speaker 2: Vice Chair Stewart.

▶ 20:54 Speaker 3: Yes.

▶ 20:56 Speaker 2: Councilor Tramontozzi.

▶ 20:58 Speaker 1: Yes.

▶ 20:59 Speaker 2: Councilor Garipay.

▶ 21:02 Speaker 6: Yes.

▶ 21:04 Speaker 2: Councilor Jamaleddine.

▶ 21:06 Speaker 4: Yes.

▶ 21:08 Speaker 2: President Cinella. Yes. That's six yes.