The Rochester Board of Selectmen breezed through a brief meeting on June 6, starting with the acceptance of the retirement of Jana Cavanaugh from the Board of Assessors, effective June 30.
Cavanaugh, a schoolteacher employed by the Town of Rochester, will retire from her teaching position this year and, as Cavanaugh explained, will also be retiring from the Board of Assessors as an essential act to collect her pension.
“In order to receive my pension, I would have to retire (from the Board of Assessors),” said Cavanaugh.
Selectmen Chairman Naida Parker explained in a follow-up interview that Cavanaugh, in order to collect her teaching pension, cannot continue as an employee of the town in the capacity of a compensated member of the Board of Assessors.
“To collect her pension, she has to break employment with the town,” said Parker. “You can’t retire and still be an employee of the town.”
Parker furthermore stated that Cavanaugh, once effectively retired from her teaching position and Board of Assessors position on June 30, will likely seek appointment to the Board of Assessors on July 1. At that point, Cavanaugh’s membership on the Board of Assessors would no longer be a position that pays into the retirement fund. Upon the next election cycle, Cavanaugh would again have to run as a candidate for the Board of Assessors.
Although Cavanaugh has not formally stated this intention to seek appointment or run in the next election, Parker said the move would make sense.
In the meantime, said Parker, anyone else in town interested in an appointment to the Board of Assessors, which pays a stipend of just over $6,000 annually, should submit a letter of interest to the Board of Selectmen. Selectmen, as well as the Finance Committee and the other members of the Board of Assessors, would approve the appointment of the new member.
The next meeting of the Rochester Board of Selectmen is scheduled for June 13 at 6:00 pm at Rochester Memorial School before the Special Town Meeting at 6:45 pm.
By Jean Perry