Assistant City Assessor Ashlie Felix helps a resident during the walk-up hours at City Hall. (ANGELICA J. CORE/THE WESTFIELD NEWS)
By Angelica J. Core
Staff writer
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Assessor’s Office is trying to be more accessible to the community while City Hall remains closed during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the goal of assisting the city’s older adults, Assessor Robin Johnson set up a table behind City Hall to provide senior citizens and veterans with assistance in filing exemptions for the next fiscal year. The table has been outside since July. In the beginning, they were outside two days a week but now that the need has gone down, they are outside on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Johnson said the drive-up style option is easier for residents because they can come and talk to someone with the building closed.
“A lot of them have said that they’re thankful that we are here, that they can actually talk to someone. That’s the biggest issue. They could do it by mail but then they forget something and then you’re back and forth, back and forth,” Johnson said. Johnson said this will continue through the end of September and she will assess any further needs. If the office still needs a lot of people to fill out their forms, they will extend to October but no longer than that because of the weather.
Residents with business at City Hall can make appointments with individual departments. Many payments can be made online and a drop box for payments, forms and other correspondence is located in the parking lot by the side door.
