Joint Committee Appoints New Board of Assessors Member

Easton resident Scott Timulty was chosen to fill a this week.

The decision was made in a joint hearing with the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Assessors Monday night. Timulty beat out the other candidate for the position, Brendan Creedon, who is a commercial lines insurance producer.

Timulty, a 16-year Easton resident, is a Board Certified Real Estate Appraiser in Massachusetts.

"I'm familiar with all the approaches in appraising," he told the joint committee Monday night. "I’ve done them for tax abatement, finance transactions, the market values for homeowners. I can appraise anything up to a commercial property."

Knowing the town is very important, Timulty acknowleged, adding that he had worked with appraisals in and around Easton for a long time.

"The role of the assessor is to generate income for the town," he said. "If you can do that and hold your ground as far as tax abatement, that’s generally the role of the assessor."

Timulty was appointed on a 4-3 vote by Board of Selectmen and Board of Assessor members. Selectmen Sean Noonan, Ellen Barlow and Colleen Corona voted for Timulty while Todd Gornstein and Dave Murphy voted for Creedon.

While Board of Assessor member Wally Fulcher voted for Timulty, Assessor Chair Gerald Noonan voted for Creedon, stating family connections with state and local government as an important factor. Creedon's Aunt, serves the 11th Plymouth and Bristol Districts as a State Representative.

"It is an asset that will be extremely beneficial in legislation issues, being able to contact the state, being able to deal with it, and also being able to work within the town," Noonan said.

Fulcher, however, disagreed.

"The political end of it, to be quite honest with you, doesn't weigh with me," he said.

Timulty will replace Shaun Fitzgerald, who served for 10 years on the Board of Assessors. The new member's presence will add a new dynamic to the board.

"We’ve had a great board for 10 years that I’ve served here," Noonan said. "A lot of it is to be able to work together and to bring your individual services of life together collectively and to do what is best for the town."