The Board of Assessors has placed the town’s chief assessor, Karen Bertolino, on paid administrative leave while an independent firm hired by the board audits Marblehead’s property valuation process, Chair John Kelley told the Marblehead Current on Thursday.
The move comes amid concerns from residents over the equity of recent property revaluations and significant hikes in their property tax bills.
In a phone interview, Kelley said Bertolino will be on leave so as to ensure the independence of the audit and to allow the firm to conduct its review without any potential influence.
“If we have someone coming into the office to audit the whole procedure about how the values were obtained, it’s best for the assessor not to be there during the process,” Kelley said.
Bertolino had not responded to a request for comment before the Current’s deadline.
The board is commissioning an independent audit to be conducted by an outside expert on mass appraisal, the method used by assessors to revalue properties town-wide based on sales data and statistical analyses, which were based on data from 2022 in the most recent cycle.
“We’re going to have this person start from point one, which would be looking at all the sales that took place in 2022, look at what sales were used and what sales weren’t used and why some were used and why some weren’t, go through the whole process from beginning to the end,” Kelley explained.
He said the board had not determined how long the audit would take or how much it would cost, but he would seek a transfer from the town’s free-cash reserves to fund the review.
For Kelley, the need for an independent review crystallized when he heard from a resident who questioned how their home could be valued the same as a larger house with water views just one street over.
“What somebody said to me — ‘It’s not fair’ — that really hit home,” Kelley said. “Because the whole thing about this process … is [assessments] are supposed to be fair. And there’s a perception among a lot of people in this town that the values are not fair.”
Kelley could not say what actions would follow the audit’s findings, preferring to get the results first.
“No one enjoys paying property taxes,” he said. “But at least if you can say to yourself, ‘Well, you know, what I’m writing out is fair,’ that’s really important. And I think we really have lost a lot of that feeling amongst people.”
Kelley added, “I think we’ve lost that confidence among many taxpayers.”
To address a surge in abatement applications, the board has enlisted the help of the Marblehead-based Patriot Properties. Beginning Monday, March 25, the firm will assist with the preparatory work for the abatement process, albeit the board will retain the authority to make final decisions on all abatements.
Kelley said the board had received an astounding 340 abatement applications. This figure represents a significant increase from the typical 90 to 100 abatement requests the assessors receive annually.
Amid these developments, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer has proposed Articles 35 and 38 for the upcoming Town Meeting. Article 35 seeks to bring the assessor’s office under the CFO, fostering better coordination and data sharing within the Finance Department.
Article 38 aims to make the Board of Assessors an appointed rather than elected body, aligning with the practice in many other municipalities.
If approved both at Town Meeting and in a town-wide vote, these changes would take effect in fiscal year 2025.
