The certification issue arose after the city was forced to pay Macy’s nearly $960,000 to settle the department store’s complaint that it had been overtaxed the past three years.
Anthony DuludeHOLYOKE - Chief Assessor Anthony Dulude said Mayor Alex B. Morse has written a letter of reprimand concerning his failure to complete his annual recertification from the Marlborough-based Massachusetts Association of Assessing Officers.
Dulude failed to complete his annual recertification in spite of his receiving an annual $1,000 stipend for the recertification.
Dulude said he has been assessor for 20 years and received an initial certification, although he has not updated it since 2004.
He has agreed to repay the city $8,279 for a period dating to June 2,004 - the period during which he received the stipend.
The city will deduct $318.44 from Dulude’s check for each of the next 26 pay periods until the stipend is paid back.
Morse called a special meeting of the City Council for Monday night to discuss issues related to the assessor’s office. Dulude is an appointee of the City Council.
Dulude said after the meeting that the mayor’s letter of reprimand went directly to a public service subcommittee of the City Council and was not discussed by the council.
He said the City Council is likely to take it up after receiving a recommendation from the Public Service Committee.
The City Council held no discussion of assessor issues at the Monday night City Council meeting.
The certification issue arose after the city was forced to pay Macy’s nearly $960,000 on Aug. 27 to settle the department store’s complaint that it had been overtaxed the past three years.
After the city and Macy’s disagreed on how its 201,000 square feet at Holyoke Mall at Ingleside should be valued and the Board of Assessors denied an abatement, Macy’s appealed to the state Appellate Tax Board and a settlement was reached.
The abatement paid to Macy’s is $332,740 for fiscal year 2010, $367,321 for fiscal year 2011 and $256,359 for fiscal year 2012.
Dulude said assessors thought the assessment of Macy’s property should be based on the square-footage rate used to determine the mall’s value, which was $97 per square foot.
Macy’s argued that it should be treated as a store independent from the mall, at a square footage price of $37.
There was insufficient money in the abatement overlay account to refund Macy’s tax abatement, Dulude said.
Morse faulted Dulude for not alerting him to the possible payment to Macy’s.
Dulude said the assessors were “a little too aggressive” with the Macy’s valuation.
With the settlement, the city received $89,000 more a year from Macy’s than from the previous $535,000 paid by Macy’s, Dulude said.