In the city of Dunkirk, one assessor serves a population of around 12,700 residents. But four towns — Dunkirk, Hanover, Pomfret and Villenova — will share the services of one beginning in January.

Those four townships, we must note, include the village of Fredonia and serve a total of nearly 24,000 residents — almost double the city. The announcement of the shared position came at a recent Pomfret Town Board meeting.

“It’ll be increased coverage for everybody and a cost savings,” said Pomfret Supervisor Dan Pacos, though no firm numbers were available.

We applaud this move — and hope Chautauqua County sees a need for countywide assessing. As the real-estate market can attest, home sales are moving fast. That means current assessments are likely too low. While that is an issue for another day, we need to get away from different assessors for different municipalities.

One assessor for four towns, including two of the larger ones in northern Chautauqua County, could be the start of something bigger.