Town assessor settles into office

NORTH EAST — The Town Board met in March to discuss a myriad of issues affecting the municipality. One such matter had to do with the assessor’s office, which welcomed a new assessor in January, following the November elections.

That new town assessor is Katherine Johnson, who was on hand at Thursday’s meeting to present a progress report of her time in office.

That report included an update on her basic training thus far, including courses she’s been enrolled in and requirements that have to be met in order for her to obtain basic certification.

"It’s been wonderful," Johnson said of her job and required studies. "The beginning of the year is always very hectic, between training classes and working and getting everything done."

A newly elected assessor must obtain training in specific areas within three years of taking office, according to the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS). Those areas include fundamentals of assessment administration; ethical decision making; fundamentals of data collection; cost, market and income approach to value; fundamentals of mass appraisal; and introduction to farm appraisal.

Some of those courses are recommended to be completed by the end of a new assessor’s first year on the job, while others can be completed at the end of the second or third year.

Johnson took additional courses that were not required, including report writing and the Association of Towns’ assessor training.

"In general, it’s difficult starting when you really don’t know anything about how the state does things, but we have very good connections with the state, which is very supportive," she said. "We’re very lucky here, because I’m told we’re one of the few counties that has that."

In the meantime, the town has been keeping up with its work. Data collectors have been going to all town properties to gather information for future assessments.

"Everything has been progressing well. The data collectors have been taking a long time going to all of the properties in town, and they’re about at the end of their project," Johnson said. "They’ve been to pretty much every parcel in town. If anyone has a problem with their data they can come and take a look at our inventory."

The assessor’s office is open Wednesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. To contact the assessor, call 518-789-3663.