The two active members of the Orange Board of Assessors have had a tough time of it these past several months.
It’s hard enough to find volunteers to fill seats on the boards and committees that are required to run small New England towns like Orange, with a population of about 7,600. But in our experience, boards of assessors are especially difficult to fill because the work of determining and constantly updating property values for tax purposes is complex, time consuming and quite technical. Because no one wants to pay taxes, or at least no more than their fair share, the values these assessor boards establish are constantly challenged, which hardly makes the work more rewarding.
At the moment, in Orange’s case, the work is being made even more challenging because one of the town’s three elected, volunteer assessors has become a no-show, dumping the work on the two active members.
According to Board of Assessors member Cynthia Brown, her colleague, Richard Herk, has not attended any meetings since December.
“Not only has he not attended, we have not been able to communicate with him,” Brown recently complained to the Selectboard. “We have written to him asking him to resign if he doesn’t intend to participate, and he has refused to respond.”
Unfortunately, because assessors are independently elected, the Selectboard is powerless to replace Herk, although it has decided to ask the town’s lawyer if there is anything more to be done that hasn’t already been tried. Herk’s term doesn’t expire until May of 2019.
Selectboard Chairman Ryan Mailloux said the town could send a letter asking Herk to resign, but he said he hopes the town’s lawyers might offer other options.
Because the Board of Assessors has only three members, at least two must be present to hold a meeting legally. Brown said Herk’s absence created problems for her and fellow member Brenda Piro, as both must do the work of three and attend every meeting.
“We can’t go away and we have to be there,” Brown said. “We really do need a third member.”
The situation is all the more vexing as there is a willing volunteer standing in the wings to replace Herk, if he were to resign.
Brown endorsed real estate agent Lisa J. Elliott as a potential replacement.
“I am a lifelong resident of Orange and would like the chance to give back,” Elliott said in a letter of interest to the Selectboard.
Since no one, including reporters, has been able to reach Herk, it’s hard to know what to make of the situation. But it’s hard not to read this as incredibly thoughtless and inconsiderate. If Herk, after running for and winning the seat, found he disliked the work, or if his life changed and he no longer could afford the time, then he should have said so and stepped down. It happens all the time. And if he’s embarrassed about resigning or if he’s struggling with indecision, he should get over it, because delay has only made things worse for his fellow board members and indirectly, for his fellow residents and taxpayers.
While you might excuse indecision in a case like this, there is no excuse for not responding to his fellow board members or the Selectboard.
For the good of the town, Assessor Herk should either return and do the job he offered to do in the last election, or he should move on, so someone else can step up.