At the October 16, 2024 Town Council meeting, Town Manager Patrick Fox provided the council with two options for filling the recent vacancy of the Town Assessor position.  Former Assessor Clinton Swett resigned from his position with the town effective October 17.  Per the Council-Manager Charter, in addition to appointing the Town Manager, the Assessor is the only other appointment conducted by the Town Council.

The first of two options Fox presented for the council's consideration was the traditional job hiring process where interviews are held with candidates after a period of advertising the position.  Given a reported decline in applicants within the region, Fox presented a second option that includes partnering with Cumberland County for assessing services.

Currently, the neighboring towns of Falmouth, Gorham, Yarmouth, North Yarmouth, and a couple of other smaller communities partner with Cumberland County.  The arrangement would provide the town of Cape Elizabeth with an entire assessing team made up of an assessor, field appraisers, and support staff -- with scheduled hours at the town hall.  Fox said of the team service approach that it might help us, "Stay ahead and not let our values get so far from 100% requiring a strong need for a revaluation."

Councilor Stephanie Anderson asked if the move would be more or less costly than currently budgeted.  Fox said that his understanding from conversations with other communiities utilizing Cumberland County for assessing services is that the cost would possibly offer savings, but no increases.

Councilor Penny Jordan was favorable of this approach, "We have something in front of us that needs to be addressed soon --  which is an analysis of the revaluation.  If the county has the depth and the resources in order to do the level of analysis that we need to do and help us draw conclusions, and it's cost effective, it makes sens to corral as many resources as we can versus having a single resource coming on board."

Councilor Jeremy Gabrielson favored this option as well.  In addition to the continuity of service, partnering with the county adds value by, "Working with an organizaiton that has the capacity to invest in professional development as well as offering a group of professionals to consult during more difficult cases."

The council communicated that they were favorable of the Cumberland County option and requested the Town Manager to pursue contracting with the county.  Fox will provide the council with a package proposal at the November 11 Town Council meeting.