Michael Weber, Rensselaerville assessor candidate

Michael Weber

RENSSELAERVILLE — Assessor Michael Weber is running for a second term for the job that he says matches his temperament.

“It’s kind of like the devil is in the details,” said Weber of assessing. “You need to be thorough and I think that, with my background in engineering and finance, I’m more thorough on details, which are important to doing the job properly.”

Elected in 2009, Weber has spent most of his career as a real-estate broker, and is currently an associate broker for RE/MAX. He has state certification as an assessor and as an appraiser, and has worked as a financial planner and a field engineer.

Weber, 76, an enrolled Republican, once chaired the town’s Republican committee, but he has sought Independence Party enrollment after a disagreement with party leaders related to the ethics investigation of the assessor’s office this year. The enrollment switch won’t be effective until after the general election.

Weber said he is committed to ethics and honesty in office. As a real-estate broker in Rensselaerville, Weber said, he has no conflict of interest in the town post. He said another assessor would be used to avoid an assessor evaluating his or her own, or a family member’s property. Rensselaerville has three assessors.

Supervisor Valerie Lounsbury said during an April meeting that the town had received calls about assessors not being clearly identified. Weber said he rings the doorbell of each home to introduce himself before inspecting the outside.

“You have your driver’s license, which has your picture on it, and, also, because I’m in the real-estate business, I also have identification with my picture on it from the State of New York, the Division of Licensing,” said Weber. “There is no identification, per se, that I have that says that I’m an assessor with the town, but usually people know who we are.”

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