Neffinger introduces Nicora as temporary assessor
Date: 3/13/2012
March 14, 2012By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD — Last Tuesday, Mayor Gregory Neffinger officially introduced Chester Nicora,, a retired assessor for the town of Agawam, as the town's temporary principal assessor.
He also announced that Kathleen Cooley had been officially removed from the Board of Assessors as of March 2.
Nicora said he had served as an assessor for the town of Agawam for eight years, retiring from that position in 2008. He noted that he had also worked in West Springfield's Assessors Office on a temporary basis in the past, following "the unfortunate passing of [principal assessor] Ed O'Brien" in 2009.
Nicora had high praise for the competency of the clerks in the Assessor's Office, indicating that he is able to come in "at will" as the situation warrants.
"The staff let me know if there is something that needs to be done, phone calls to return or things to be signed," he said.
Neffinger said that since Christopher Keefe was fired and Nicora brought in, the Assessor's Office "has not received one call asking why a [property tax] abatement had not been processed."
Neffinger added that he had hoped to be able to announce the addition of two part-time assessors — Hans Doup and Stella E. Kalamarakis — to assist with the processing of tax abatement applications, but that the City Council had referred his appointments to committee during its March 5 meeting, rather than giving the individuals immediate approval.
"The City Council has the right to question what it wants to question," Neffinger observed, adding that one of the points in question is whether, under the Town Charter, Kalamarakis is allowed to receive a stipend from the Board of Assessors in addition to one from the Community Preservation Committee, where she is an administrative assistant.
"I'm not aware of anything [in the charter] that would not allow someone to take a stipend from two different boards," Neffinger said.
He added that the submission of what he felt were two "very qualified individuals" for the Board of Assessors was a step toward his goal of insuring that board eventually has its full complement of three individuals making decisions.
"The charter says the board [of assessors] is to have three people," Neffinger pointed out. "For twelve years there have been only two."
He said that that former arrangement "put the town in a bad position. Once the principal assessor came up with an assessment, that [evaluation] was 50 percent of the opinion [on a property]." With a board of three, Neffinger feels there will be more input, and more impartiality, in arriving at a final figure.
The town is still interviewing for the position of principal assessor, according to Neffinger. He added that his plans for that office include creating a deputy assessor position so that there would always be someone to step in to fulfill the assessor's duties should that person be unavailable for an extended period.
