Retiring City Assessor Honored at Brighton City Council Meeting

Retiring Brighton City Assessor Kathleen Lupi received a standing ovation from City Council members during Thursday night's meeting after City Manager Dana Foster read a city proclamation honoring her six years of service.

According to Foster, Lupi was recognized several times as one of the top ranked assessors in state by the State of Michigan.

Foster said Lupi was a dedicated assessor with a positive work ethic with a constant eye for fairness and accuracy.

Lupi was also recognized for volunteering to take on city payroll administration responsibilities as part of the city's effort to reduce city cost in addition to her assessing duties.

"In all various local government jobs and fields, there's no doubt that  assessing is probably one of the most thankless parts of local government services that one can be involved with," Foster said. "I say thankless because, let's face it, when the city assessor's walking down the street, coming towards one's property or house, there's not exactly a round of applause in the neighborhood for that type of thing. And we can laugh, joke, but that's the nature of what we're talking about. And with Kathy, the bottom line is, she's very good. The job was done with excellence. This is not something that should be overlooked for one moment."

Lupi said she owes a lot of her accomplishments to her co-workers and knowing City Council members, Foster and City Finance Director Kelly LaLonde had her back.

"That's very important for an assessors," she said.

Lupi said she plans to spend her free time with her grandchildren, vacationing and playing golf.