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 Robert A. Palmer, the Town of Natick's Treasurer/Collector, passed on Sunday, June 24th, 2012 after battling a long illness. Robert served municipal governments in Maine and Massachusetts for over 30 years, and in particular here in the Home of
Champions for the last 18 years. In that time he established an ethic for public service and a professional standard for every aspect of the Town's financial operations. Over the course of those years, Mr. Palmer:
- Became the first Appointed Treasurer/Collector in Natick
- Professionalized the Assessors Office
- Professionalized Accounting and Collection Systems
- Spread Technology Applications Town-wide, including: earliest forms of GIS, instituting POINT and MUNIS Software systems for financial management, fostering earliest web pages for the community
- Chiefly responsible for money management and debt management of all major building projects for the last 15 years – which included: New Municipal Complex (Town Hall, Police, Fire HQ, Morse Institute Library), Renovations to Water Treatment Plant, Lilja Elementary, Bennett-Hemenway Elementary, and new Wilson Middle School, Community Senior/Center and Natick High School
- Became the driving force behind Town’s eventual achievement as a Aaa Bond Rated Community – placing Natick in the top 5% of communities in the Commonwealth and the Nation
- Managed/Supported almost every aspect of Town Hall Operations at one point or another, including IT, Assessing, Collector, Treasurer, Comptroller, Procurement, Budgeting, and Parking Enforcement
- Served where he was needed, including several times as Interim Comptroller and most vitally as a community leader when Natick's First Town Administrator Fred Conley passed.
As a tribute to Bob Palmer’s commitment to continued professional development, the Board of Selectmen has established a gift fund in his memory to support those Town employees who wish to further develop their skills and knowledge and enhance their careers. We welcome and encourage contributions to this fund as a way of promoting and preserving his legacy outstanding professional service to the Town and its employees.
Donations should be made payable to the Town of Natick. Please write "Palmer Professional Development Fund" in the memo line.
Checks may be sent to:
Town of Natick
c/o Selectmen’s Office
13 East Central Street, Natick, MA 01760.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Martha L. White
Town Administrator
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