MARLBOROUGH – It doesn’t sound like much, increasing a job position from 35 to 40 hours per week.
But when there could be more than one position, and budget season is about to begin, then those hours can draw more attention.
During the City Council’s Finance Committee meeting on March 4, members discussed a request to raise the hours of the senior assessor to 40 hours per week and to provide $3,600 to fund the change for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Principal Assessor John Valade said the request was “mainly to better align assessors’ line with other communities.”
He added it would help “better control our internal data and security” by lessening reliance on outside vendors.
According to Councilor Teona Brown, an agreement for the hours increase had been reached during the previous administration.
Councilor Mark Vital asked whether there were other 35-hour-per-week positions on the municipal payroll, and whether these positions could be changed to 40 hours per week. Committee President John Irish replied that the potential financial impact from increasing the hours could range from $7,000 to $12,000 per position.
Council President Michael Ossing pointed out that the assessors’ office has $200,000 for outside services. Several councilors asked whether that budget could decrease in exchange for the increase in hours for the senior assessor.
Councilor Mark Oram saw the change in hours as a way to attract qualified employees to the city.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “Marlborough has been known to not pay as well as other towns. It’s more and more difficult to find employees.”
The committee voted in favor of the change 4-1, with Irish opposing.
