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Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things: Steve Pomfret Helps Keep Maynard Running
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Pursuing and attaining public office can be downright challenging, but Steve Pomfret, a principal engineer in Marlborough, Mass., has answered the challenge in his hometown of Maynard, Mass., for years. He has served on the Maynard Board of Assessors since 1982 and currently serves as its chairman. It's a position that often finds him at odds with his neighbors, but the way he diffuses conflict over property taxes harkens back to the reason he chose to serve in the first place.
Town assessors have the task of taxing town property owners as fairly as possible and work closely with the state Department of Revenue. A big part of the job is meeting with disgruntled property owners and trying to educate them on the process. "The goal is to treat everyone equally with respect," he says. "People want fairness." Often he finds himself playing the role of educator, he says. "Most people come in and just want someone to listen to them. Once they have their say, we explain their assessment and show how everyone is treated the same. If there is something wrong, we fix it. Once people understand their assessment they go away feeling much better. No one likes to pay taxes, but we all have to pay our fair share," he says.
Pomfret started with Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1967 when it was located in The Old Mill in Maynard, Mass. A few years later he moved there. He found that working and living in Maynard was "great" for both his career and his family.
By 1982, he says he "just wanted to be involved and give back to the town." He volunteered as a member of the town's Finance Committee, which gave him an overview of what happens in all the town's departments. Pomfret ran his first campaign for an opening on the Planning Board, but lost to its incumbent chairman, a person who had served successfully for a long time.
"A lot of people give up after losing an election," he says. But tenacity leads to success. "It takes time for people to know who you are," he says. Pomfret's next run was for a seat on the Board of Assessors. He was elected. Years later, the voters in Maynard changed the selection of assessors from an elected to an appointed board because of the demands of the job, he explains. Pomfret stayed on, accumulating skills and experience that serve the citizens well.
Assessors in Massachusetts are required to pass Assessing 1.0.1 within three years of being appointed or elected, he says. Pomfret earned his designation as a Massachusetts Accredited Assessor in 1997.
Municipal service is somewhat of a tradition in the Pomfret family. His oldest daughter, Stephanie, is the secretary for the Maynard Board of Health. She and her husband Bill have three children. Bill is a member of the Maynard Police Department. His wife Carol, works at Emerson Hospital and their other two children work in the private sector: daughter Julie is a portfolio manager and works for Fidelity Investments in New York City and son Matthew is a TV Producer for the Deal or No Deal program and lives in Burbank California.
Over the years, Pomfret has seen first hand how town government can touch the lives of its citizens. "We get all kinds of people young and old. Some need help in getting over a financial crisis such as the death of a person in their family or a disability. The board is able to grant them abatements and exemptions to reduce financial stress on the elderly, surviving spouse and veterans.
Pomfret thinks that HP employees "have a lot of skills that their cities and towns could use." He sees his role as one townsperson helping others in his community. "Most people who run for public office want to help others," he says.
21 November 2008
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