Belmont Appoints New Treasurer, Human Resources Director

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Photo: Belmont’s new adminstrative staff: Treasurer Leslie Davidson (left) and Kelli Spencer

The town of Belmont has filled a pair of critical administrative positions that have been empty for several months.

On Monday, June 5, the Select Board will ratify Town Administrator Patrice Garvin’s selection of Leslie Davidson of Beverly to be town treasurer and tax collector, while Kelli Spencer of Brockton has been appointed the town’s Human Resources director.

The appointments were announced at the June 5th Select Board meeting held before Town Meeting.

The annual salary and benefits for each position will be announced later.

Davidson has been treasurer in Lynnfield since November 2019. [Read about her experience before her appointment in Lynnfield in a profile in ItemLive.com] Davidson has nearly ten years of municipal experience in the treasurers departments in Marblehead and Wenham and 14 years at Beverly National Bank as an assistant cashier. Davidson has an associate degree from North Shore Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration manga cum laude from Endicott College.

Spencer is the human resources generalist in Norwood since September 2019 and has twice been asked to be the town’s acting human resources director in the past two years. She worked in human resources in both private industry and for the US Army before coming to Norwood. Spencer enrolled at Bridgewater State University, graduating in 2012, and last month obtained her Master’s in Public Administration from Suffolk University. She is last year’s recipient of the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association’s Gerry Whitlock Memorial Scholarship, a $2,000 award given to a Massachusetts graduate student who plans on a career in local government. Her dog is named Whiskey.

Whiskey, Chief Joy Officer

Tuccinardi Set To Move From Assistant To Taking Reins Of Belmont’s Accounting Dept.

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Photo: Donna Tuccinardi, to be Belmont’s new town accountant

While it won’t be official until the Select Board is notified of the appointment on Monday, Jan. 23, there are some strong hints that Donna Tuccinardi will be Belmont’s next town accountant.

Such as, on the Select Board meeting agenda is an item stating Appointment of Town Accountant Donna Tuccinardi. Another is that as of Sunday, Tuccinardi had updated her Linkedin page with her new promotion.

Not that Tuccinardi selection would come as a surprise. The Belmont High grade (Class of ’90) has been the assistant accountant for the past seven and a half years. And Town Administrator Patrice Garvin, when introducing former assistant Matt Haskell as the town’s new budget analyst, said, “the one thing we’d like to do is to look for potential and growth within the town itself,” said Garvin.

Tuccinardi replaces Glenn Castro, who is returning to his home state of California.

Before moving into municipal government, Tuccinardi spent 17 years as a senior accounting manager with Five Star Quality Care, a provider of community-based services for older adults.

After graduating from BHS, Tuccinardi matriculated at Boston College, where she received a degree in management/accounting. Tuccinardi earned her MBA with a concentration in taxation in 2000 from Bentley.

A resident of Watertown, Tuccinardi is active in community service serving as a director of the Watertown Community Foundation, a PTO president, and involved in Watertown Youth Baseball.

Pick Up Covid Rapid Tests and Kn95 Masks At Town Locations In Belmont

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Photo: Tests, masks and thermometers are avaliable for pick up

The Town of Belmont has rapid tests and other Health Department supplies currently available to resident for pickup. Rapid tests, Kn95 masks and a limited number of thermometers will be available while supplies last. Rapid Tests are good to use until February 2023 due to FDA extensions.

Pick Up Locations and Hours 

Belmont Health and Recreation Departments 

19 Moore Street, Homer Building 2nd Floor — Open Monday 8AM-7PM, Tuesday-Thursday 8AM-4PM and Friday 8AM-12PM

Belmont Public Library 

336 Concord Avenue — Open Monday-Wednesday 9AM-9PM, Thursday 11AM-9PM, Friday 9AM-5PM and Saturday 9AM-1PM 

Beech Street Center 

266 Beech Street — Open Monday, Wednesday, Friday 8AM-4PM, Tuesday 8AM-7PM 

Belmont Town Clerk

455 Concord Avenue — Open Monday 8AM-7PM, Tuesday-Thursday 8AM-4PM and Friday 8AM-12PM

Belmont Town Administrator (second floor)

455 Concord Avenue — Open Monday 8AM-7PM, Tuesday-Thursday 8AM-4PM and Friday 8AM-12PM

Town Accountant Latest Official To Bid Adieu To Belmont

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Photo: Glen Castro, Belmont Town Accountant

We don’t known what route Belmont Town Accountant Glen Castro will be taking when he “makes that California trip” next month, just that it will be permanent as Castro submitted his resignation to the town effective Jan. 5, according to Town Administrator Patrice Garvin.

Castro’s departure – he is returning to “The Golden State” where he grew up – comes as the town continues to seek to fill important posts such as the director and assistant director at the Human Resources Department, several mid-level management positions and a reported deficit of 10 employees at the Department of Public Works.

As with Castro, the worker gaps in town departments are due in part the social trend The Great Resignation which has impacted industries, businesses and governments since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

Castro was named Belmont’s full-time town accountant by the Select Board in July 2021 after being the town’s acting accountant since Oct. 2020. Castro first came to the Town Administrator’s office in 2010 as a budget analyst, a position he held for eight years before transitioning to the town’s budget director in 2018. 

Town Negotiates Contract With Superior Officers Association; Three Unions Left To Be Settled

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Photo: Contract settled with Belmont Police Superior Officers

Three down, three to go as the town reached a multi-year contract with another of it employee unions announced on Monday, June 27.

The Belmont Police Superior Officers Association reached an agreement on a new three-year contract to be in effect from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023. The parties agree to three 2 percent base wage increases from 2020 to 2023, according to Shawna Healey, the town’s Human Resources director.

The contract also provides education incentives and adds the Juneteenth holiday as a paid holiday. As part of working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the town is providing a one-time payment of $2,000 for active employees who worked from March 2020 to March 2021.

There are 16 members in the association representing Belmont Police sergeants, lieutenants and captains.

Belmont Secures $1.1 Million In State American Rescue Plan Funds For Something Extra

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Photo: Monies to help plan for a new library is part of the recently received $1.1 million in state funds.

With thanks to state legislators and town officials, Belmont has received $1.1 million from the state of Massachusetts to fund some of the town’s “extra” expenses that would have been waiting until the next budget cycle.

The source of the funding is from the $5.3 billion the state was allocated from President Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion funding package to promote recovery from the economic and health effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and the related recession. The $1.1 million is coming from a separate pot of funds than the $7.6 million in ARPA monies distributed as part of the bill’s Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund.

“This is funding that the town of Belmont has been able to secure thanks to state Rep. Dave Rogers and state Sen. Will Brownsberger,” Town Administrator Patrice Garvin told the Select Board at its first meeting in December. “This is great news for the town.”

Select Board member Mark Paolillo also thanked Garvin as she started the conversation to find state funds to pay for aspects of the skating rink’s planning and design, leading to this larger allocation.

The funding will be spent on several projects in town outside of the budget:

  • $250,000, the new Belmont Public Library
  • $250,000, the new Belmont skating rink
  • $100,000, economic development
  • $500,000 public housing

The public housing portion includes:

  • $250,000, water and sewer infrastructure improvements at Belmont Village
  • $150,000, improvements at Waverley Oaks
  • $100,000, redevelopment of Sherman Gardens

Letter To The Editor: Claims Belmont Overtax Property Below $1 Million ‘Untrue And Misleading’ – Assessors

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Photo: The Assessors before the Select Board (from left) Martin Millane, Robert Reardon and Charles Laverty III

Dear Editor:

The Town of Belmont Board of Assessors has recently received information being circulated by a group calling themselves the “Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont” in which it is claimed that the Fiscal Year 2020 Assessments overtax properties under $1,000,000 in assessed value and under tax higher-end properties. The information used to make these claims is untrue and misleading and does not adhere to the actual assessment process which is regulated, reviewed, audited, and approved by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on an annual basis. The Board of Assessors has a long and exemplary record of fairly and equitably administering the Massachusetts General Laws to all taxpayers of Belmont.

Current assessments are historical which is a requirement of Massachusetts General Laws.  The Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020) assessments are based on an effective date of 01/01/2019 based on sales information that occurred during the calendar year 2018. The effective date of assessment is based on the information on file in the assessing office based on inspections and reviews of every property in town.  Therefore, the fiscal year 2020 assessed values are as of Jan. 1, 2019, and are do not reflect the value of a property today.   

The report being circulated uses sales that have occurred in Calendar Years 2019 and 2020 compared against assessments that were based on 2018 sales.  The activity in these years is the basis for the upcoming assessments in the Fiscal Year 2021 (effective this upcoming January) and Fiscal Year 2022. Additionally, the sales in the report show no adjustment for changes in the Belmont Market and there are no adjustments for changes made to the properties after Jan. 1, 2019 (permits and renovations).  

The following table is from one of the many reports required and reviewed by the Department of Revenue to obtain certification.  


Fiscal Year 2020 Sales Ratios

Sale RangeSales RatioCODNumber
Q1$674,000 to $975,0000.951.8935 Sales
Q2$980,000 to $1,202,0000.951.4835 Sales
Q3 $1,206,000 to $1,512,5000.951.2735 Sales
Q4$1,515,000 to $5,500,0000.951.2434 Sales

The sales are segmented into four quartiles by sales price. The next column, sales ratio, is the assessed value divided by the sales price, which results in the assessment level. The Commonwealth requires that assessments are within 90 percent to 110 percent of sales. All four quartiles are at 95 percent which infers that than assessments are at 95 percent of market value in Fiscal Year 2020. The COD column is a further statistical test known as Coefficient of Dispersion which weighs, in short, the quality of the data set.  The Commonwealth requires that this be less the 10. The Belmont assessments are under 2.  The last column is the number of sales analyzed in each quartile. 

It is important to note that the Department of Revenue sets all guidelines and regulations for assessing in the Commonwealth. All communities are required to adhere to the same rules and procedures and Assessors are under oath to uphold these practices.    

A full version of the report above, as well as other reports used in the Certification Process, are available on the Belmont Board of Assessors’ website.

The Belmont Board of Assessors

Robert Reardon; chair, Charles Laverty III; vice-chair, Martin Millane; secretary.

New Rules For Wintertime Trash/Recycling Pickup

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Photo: Not the way to leave your trash. (Boston.gov)

As wintertime ice and snow begins to pile up on sidewalks and roadways, the Highway Division of the Belmont Department of Public Works want to inform homeowners and businesses of some simple rules that will allow for efficient removal of trash and recycling over the next few months.

  • During the winter if there is snow and/or large snowbanks please park on one side of the road. This will allow the trash and recycling trucks to maneuver streets quickly and not become blocked. The DPW has called the Belmont Police to certain addresses to assist with on street parking.
  • Do not placed carts on snowbanks.
  • Carts must have lids closed and placed in front of snowbanks.
  • The trucks can’t reach the cart if it is on or behind the snowbank. The carts can be placed on the street in front of snowbanks after plowing has ended. This means carts should be set out the morning of pick-up before 7 a.m.
  • Do not leave carts out overnight during a snow storm.

Got questions? Call the DPW at 617-993-2680.

Belmont Business Owners Being Asked In Survey How To Stimulate Local Economy

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Photo: Businesses in Belmont Center.

The Town of Belmont is sponsoring a survey conducted by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to guide town policy and is asking for information about what changes Belmont business owners would change to stimulate the town’s economy, including their insights into how to create jobs, support business development, and strengthen the community as a whole.

We are currently distributing a town-wide business survey, which can be found at Belmont’s town website at www.belmont-ma.gov or directly on https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BelmontBizSurvey.

All responses are optional, will be kept confidential, and will only be published in aggregate. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete per business.

For more information, contact Raul Gonzalez, Economic Development Planner for MAPC, at 617-933-0722 or by e-mail at rgonzalez@mapc.org or Patrice Garvin, Town Administrator for the Town of Belmont, at 617-993-2610 or at pgarvin@belmont-ma.gov