Committee backs designating Board of Assessors as special municipal employees to allow interim assessor

The committee voted to recommend that the full City Council designate members of the Everett City Board of Assessors as “special municipal employees” under M.G.L. c. 268A so that one board member may serve temporarily as interim chief assessor.

City Solicitor Colleen Mejia told the committee she had consulted the General Counsel for the State Ethics Commission, who advised that a permanent full-time position cannot be designated as a special municipal employee under the statute; instead, the designation must apply to the board members themselves. Mejia said the mayor intends to have Mr. Kohane serve as interim assessor in the near term while the city fills the permanent position.

Mejia told committee members the city posted the assessor job on Jan. 7 and had received a few resumes; she said Human Resources and the mayor’s office were beginning interviews. A councilor asked whether the council could place an automatic time limit (for example, 45 days) on the special designation so it would not remain open indefinitely; Mejia replied that rescinding the designation requires an active vote by the council and cannot be achieved by an automatic expiration.

The committee made and seconded a motion recommending favorable action to the full City Council. The motion passed by voice vote; the chair declared that the “ayes have it.”