Unfinished Paperwork Causes Lanesborough to Delay Tax Classification to Dec. 21
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Board of Selectmen has once again continued their tax classification hearing because of unfinished paperwork.
"Regretfully, there are still a number of things that need to happen, especially on the accounting end," said Harald Scheid, the lead assessor for Regional Resource Group, the company the town has contracted to help do the classification. "The are some substantial portions of the recap that are unfinished. We need to have those forms finished before we can project for the tax."
The board had initially scheduled a tax classification hearing on Dec. 9, continuing it to its Tuesday meeting, but will now have to wait until Dec. 21 to resolve the matter. Scheid said while the assessment forms are complete, pending finalization, other necessary paperwork that is needed is not.
"We're in a logjam with other communities, 80 communities that are still trying to get their tax rates set," he said. "So I've been at it for the better part yesterday and all day today trying to get us over the line on assessors forms that are required. Until those are signed off, we simply can't move forward."
Selectman Gordon Hubbard said he is worried about the timeline of getting everything completed before the Dec. 31 deadline. He said he feels sorry for the town workers, particularly Town Tax Collector Jodi Hollingsworth, who now have to do extra work heading into the holidays and hopes Scheid's agency will help pitch in.
"You've got Christmas, holidays, vacations, which the team here is supposed to enjoy and relax and not be having to be concerned about this tax bill issue," he said. "So, I get it things happen. Certainly, I would hope that your agency would put extra hands in to assist with helping to rectify the situation. Not that it's anybody's fault, but everybody has to help out to fix it."
Hollingsworth said she is also concerned about getting everything ready in time for Dec. 31.
"It's not just stuffing the bills," she said. "It's actually creating the bills and the process that that takes. You're giving me a week to create the bills, get the bills back to me and get them out. You're giving me a week. And this is if everything goes smoothly with the conversion process. I am just very concerned. Hearing this, I'm very concerned."
Hubbard said he wants to know what can change to avoid similar issues in the future.
"Equally important to me, my next question was how do we make sure it doesn't happen again," he said.
Scheid said a situation like this is unlikely to happen again. He said his company only started in town during September, explaining the transition has been difficult. He said much of the work they have had to do would normally have been done over the summer.
"Transitions are painful, painful for the town and certainly painful for us," he said. "We've really thrown our backs into trying to get to the office back to square one. Admittedly, we're not where we would have liked to have been. That being said, we were able to submit our reports a week and a half ago."
Also discussed at the meeting, interim Town Administrator Bob Markel said there were three applications for the vacant town secretary position. He said none of the three have any experience in government.
"I think it's worth interviewing the three candidates who did apply," he said. "Maybe one is trainable. But it would require training, certainly, because they have not had it. None of the three has had any background whatsoever in government."
The new town administrator, Joshua Lang, will assume office on Dec. 15. Markel said he plans to help Lang transition into the position.
The board unanimously approved the renewal of all licenses in town. The board did not report any issues with the licensees or applications.
The board unanimously approved the hire of Scott Forgey to the Highway Department.
The board acknowledged an Open Meeting Law complaint filed against the town administrator search committee. The complaint concerns emails sent between the board members in August.
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