Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
| By Sarah M. Corigliano Assistant Managing Editor EAST LONGMEADOW The Selectmen had a number of appointments at their Tuesday meeting last week. One of those appointments was with Town Clerk Tom Florence in regards to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted by East Longmeadow resident and former Springfield Mayor Michael Albano. According to Florence, Albano's request sought to view real estate abatements for the last 10 years. Florence said this would be paperwork from anyone in town who "requested or received abatements or waivers of penalty and interest under comparable conditions." Florence said Albano sought an abatement for his tax bill, because he said he did not receive it. Florence said that sometimes residents who build new houses do not receive their tax bills on time and they are returned to the office marked "Return to Sender." In such a case, the returned bill would be the needed documentation. Florence said Albano's bill was not returned to the Collector's office. "The problem with [the request] is, 10 years goes back to 1995," Florence said. "I've been in this job for about two and a half years and I don't know what the prior clerk/collectors did." The Town Clerk said there are about 12,000 documents per year that Albano has requested to review. The process to find all the documents requested would be to "search through all our boxes to see if any prior Collectors waived fees (and marked them waived)," Florence said. At the Selectmen's meeting he told the Board he answered Albano's request with a letter sent on Aug. 22 and had not received a response at that time. Because of the time and resources involved in finding and providing copies of the requested documents, Florence said the cost of the FOI request would be passed on to the person making it. He said this was reviewed with Town Counsel Atty. James Donohue and it was determined that this is the method followed in such situations. In addition to reviewing the FOI request, Florence discussed with the Board policy updates on applying for and approving/not approving abatement requests. Executive Secretary for the Board of Selectmen Nick Breault said "The Board and Clerk wanted to make sure the procedure was understood [by the public and the Clerk/Collector/Treasurer's office] and will be followed going forward." In the past, Florence said, the Town Clerk/Collector required hard evidence to support a claim that a bill had not been received, or that a payment had been sent to the Collector on time, or that there was a banking error out of the resident's control. The Selectmen also reminded the public that the Town Clerk/Collector alone has the authority to approve or disapprove of a late fee and issue abatements. Florence added that, when residents have any question about their tax bills, they should pay them in full right away and then submit a written request for a waiver/abatement. He added that, in other towns, residents are responsible for their bills regardless of whether they received a paper bill in the mail or not. Selectman James Driscoll asked Florence how many times in the last year he issued real easte abatements. "I would say about one to two dozen with valid justification," Florence said. "It's Department of Revenue, it's Mass General Laws ... you just can't waive it until you have everything." Florence reiterated that residents seeking abatements need documentation justifying their late payment. Florence and the Board also discussed the misconception that "any correspondence regarding tax bills goes through any other office than the Tax Collector's office." Claffey said, "You need to make it clear that any question within the purview of the Collector goes through him and not any other office." |