Board of Assessor Endorsement

There are three candidates for this office. Last year I supported Todd Greenwood in his race against Thomas Gunning. This year he and Jim Henderson are running against Kathi Heffernan.

Todd is a strong candidate and if he were running against one of the other incumbents I could easily support him. His educational background and experience in Quantitative Analysis equip him for the job. A year ago he took the Assessors course offered by the Department of Revenue.

But he’s running against a bright spot on the current board. Kathi Heffernan is dedicated to a job she’s done for some time and done well. While opponent Jim Henderson seems to believe the Board should be “advocates” for taxpayers, Kathi properly understands the role as adhering to well prescribed procedures to ensure fair and accurate valuations of real estate, and to properly adjudicate requests for abatements.

I’m looking at a piece of literature from Jim Henderson’s campaign. It asks, “Frustrated with your tax assessment?” and goes on to suggest a vote for change. Is Mr. Henderson promising lower assessments? Just for those who vote for him, or everyone? Does he have some reason to believe there is a problem with assessments? As a CPA he touts his knowledge of taxes. But a CPA is paid by a client to use the tax code to minimize tax payments. That is not the job he is running for. A member of the board of Assessors has certain limited power affecting individual Milton residents. They can neither be advocate for nor against any taxpayer. Kathi Heffernan’s appreciation of this important point explains why she has never taken political contributions while serving in this role.

I hope Todd Greenwood runs for the Board of Assessors next year. This year, I hope you vote for Kathi Heffernan.