BERNE — The Berne Town Board has opted to reform the town’s assessor system so that it’s more like those of the vast majority of municipalities in the state, and in line with what the state regards as the superior model of assessment offices. 

Instead of having three elected assessors, the town, beginning this October, will rely on a single appointed assessor, after the board unanimously passed its sole-assessor law at its April 12 meeting, Town Clerk Kristin de Oliveira told The Enterprise this week. 

The sole-assessor model is favored by the state because, under the electoral system, assessors are vulnerable to the whims of the voters whose homes they’re evaluating, which raises the likelihood of unfair assessments and high turnover in what’s largely a technical position. 

More than 94 percent of New York municipalities have moved to a sole appointed position since the state passed its own law authorizing that change in 1970, according to the state’s Department of Taxation and Finance. Local governments were initially skeptical of the change, with half opting out in 1970.

Municipalities eventually came around to the benefits, though, and the department reports that, since 1989, the statewide turnover rate for assessors decreased. The turnover rate for appointed assessors is 40 percent lower than for elected assessors, it says. 

Berne is the last of the four Hilltowns to make the change. 

In addition to concentrating the power of the office and saving money on training and other turnover-related costs, municipalities are free to look beyond their own borders for skilled career-assessors, who may earn their living working for a number of towns within a region. 

However, Berne is sticking with one of its current assessors, Christine Valachovic, who will have the ability to appoint a deputy, de Oliveira said. The term for appointed assessors is six years. 

Some residents had expressed concerns earlier in the year about appointed assessors, stating that it gave the town board too much control over the office. 

The appointment of an assessor was a huge point of contention in Westerlo in 2019, when the town board voted to advertise for the position to the surprise of its then-assessor Peter Hotaling, who had been the town’s assessor for 19 years up until that point, replacing him by the end of the year. 

Hotaling sued the town, arguing that the town had violated his Civil Service rights, though he ultimately withdrew the lawsuit. 

Berne has been in trouble with appointments before, contributing to residents’ concerns. 

In 2020, the town lost its own Civil Service case after the board at that time — including then-Deputy Supervisor Dennis Palow, who is now supervisor — had voted to demote planning board member Emily Vincent to an alternate member, effectively removing her from a position she was entitled to through Civil Service Law. 

Also that year, it was revealed that the town’s code-enforcement officer at the time, Chance Townsend, was not properly certified for the position; he again was found to be lacking certification in 2022.