Selectmen are calling for Board of Assessors member James Judge to resign immediately.

KINGSTON – Selectmen are calling for Board of Assessors member James Judge to resign immediately.

They say he should step down from the elected position with the filing of criminal charges that the former assistant assessor illegally changed the assessment of his own property in the town’s record system by reducing it from $312,400 to $268,300.

Judge, 71, of 6 Center St., was summoned to Plymouth District Court and arraigned July 9 on a charge of municipal employee conflict of interest and two counts of larceny over $250. He is due back in court Aug. 18.

Selectmen do not have authority over Judge because he is an elected public official. According to Selectmen Chairman Elaine Fiore, when Judge learned he was being investigated he notified selectmen by email Feb. 18 that he would resign, but he did not follow through.

“Speaking for the entire board, I can say we are all very concerned about these allegations,” she said. “If proven true, Mr. Judge’s conduct undermines public faith in the way that the town of Kingston assesses taxes on homes and businesses. It’s hard to think of a more serious violation of the public trust.”

She also shared her personal disappointment with the allegations.

“Speaking for myself,” she said, “I am very disappointed that as soon as he found out about the allegations, Mr. Judge did not, at a minimum, take a leave of absense from the Board of Assessors. Given the seriousness of the allegations and the evidence against him, I feel that he should resign immediately.

“It is very troubling to me that he has continued to participate as a member of the Board of Assessors while this matter was pending, making decisions on the property taxes paid by others,” she added.

Fiore said she wants to make it clear that there is no evidence that any other member of the Board of Assessors or any employee in the assessor’s office acted improperly. She also said Judge’s access to the assessors’ database was blocked.

She said Judge’s alleged conduct is particularly egregious considering that his former position as full-time assessor and his various certifications. Judge was associated with the assessors office from 1982 until his resignation in October.

According to court records Town Administrator Robert Fennessy informed Fiore in February that he had information that Judge had changed the value of his property on March 4, 2013, by overriding the assessment in the town’s record system.

Selectmen met in executive session Feb. 11 and voted unanimously to ask Kingston Police Chief Maurice Splaine to investigate allegations that Judge had improperly lowered the amount of property taxes he should have paid. They also voted to report him to the state Ethics Commission.

By lowering the assessment of his property, Judge’s third- and fourth-quarter tax bills were lowered by $367 per quarter for a total savings of $734, according to records provided by Sgt. Robert Wells as part of his investigation.

Fiore said the fact that the charges have been filed is now a matter of public record, and aside from calling for his resignation, selectmen can only watch the criminal process play out.

“It’s in the system, and we’ll wait and see what the appropriate government agencies do with it,” Fiore said.

When informed that the allegations are on the agenda for Tuesday night’s meeting, Judge’s attorney, Robert Galvin, said he was not aware of that they would be discussed. He said he will not comment on the legal proceedings, adding that the selectmen do so at their own peril.

Galvin said legal notice would be required if the board were to go into executive session to discuss the allegations but not for an agenda item.

In his report, Wells said that when new Assistant Assessor Holly Merry, Judge’s succssessor, contacted Judge to ask about the change, he told her he didn’t know how it happened.

When Judge appeared at her office Jan. 27 to ask her to “change the assessment back to reflect the previous assessment,” she refused, and Judge made the change himself on her computer without her permission, Wells said.

According to court records, Judge told Merry in an email that he didn’t do anything wrong and requested that he send her a revised bill. She said she could not, citing the advice of town counsel, and advised him to contact Fennessy.

Wells indicates in court records that Finance Committee Chairman Mary MacKinnon, whom he interviewed Feb. 21, noticed the discrepancy while studying tax records in December 2013. She was conducting her own review of tax records for an analysis of how the Independence wind turbine affects nearby property values.

Selectmen plan to meet with the Board of Assessors at their next meeting Tuesday, Aug. 12, to discuss a likely audit or “measure and list” evaluation of all properties in town to make sure they are properly assessed.

Fiore said the estimated cost of $100,000 to $130,000 will be worth it for a process that should remedy or clear up any misinformation in the assessors’ database.

Follow Kathryn Gallerani on Twitter, @kgallreporter.