An incumbent and a newcomer to county politics are vying for the Cole County Assessor's office.
Both Republicans, current Assessor Chris Estes and longtime business owner Greg Rollins are campaigning for the Aug. 2 primary election. No one is running as a Democrat.
In the position for nearly nine years, Estes is touting his experience and running on his motto of being fair and equal - fair assessments and equal treatment. In the past eight years, the Cole County Assessor's office has been one of the four top most accurate offices in the state, he said, based on state Tax Commission ratio studies.
Rollins, owner of Rollins Automotive and a lifelong Cole County resident, is marking his accessibility, communication skills and ability to cooperate with others as three major pillars of his campaign. He said he can "disagree without being disagreeable."
The job is full-time and pays $59,438 annually.
Relationship with the Cole County Commission
Estes' campaign comes on the heels of publicized disputes between himself and the Cole County Commission, one of which landed the two entities in court.
The lawsuit concerned the Cole County Assessor's Fund, which state statute dedicates to expenses of running the assessor's office because it does not use general revenue funds. It covers computers, copiers, printers, paper and toner, Estes said, adding there is no cost to county general revenue on those items.
The commission billed Estes to pay for the assessor's portion of the county's computer and information system services. Commissioners wanted money transferred from the Assessment Fund to general revenue to cover the costs.
Estes paid the county's bills from 2008-11, but he stopped in 2012 when a $39,411 bill came in. The lawsuit followed.
"In my mind, telephones, printers, CPU usage, payroll processing and accounting are normal functions of an office," he said. "You're going to have that with any office you have, and if statute says this fund can't be used to pay for that, then this fund shouldn't be used to pay for that."
The judge and the appeals court disagreed.
Estes said he stands by his decision to pursue the lawsuit to find a proper resolution.
"I filed a suit because I felt we weren't following the law," he said.
In March, the commission suggested Estes spent county money on political advertising, but Estes denied that claim, stating the ads were informational. The ads were reminders of the March 1 deadline to turn in property tax assessment forms.
The commission took issue with Estes' photo in the ads and that he ran more ads than in the past.
Estes previously told the News Tribune the ad campaign resulted in 412 more county residents turning in their forms than last year, which saved the county money on mailing second reminders. In all, Estes paid an additional $1,544 for ads, but he said he saved the county between $2,344 and $3,139.
Despite the past, Estes said he would like to improve his relationship with the commission.
"I would like to be able to work with them," he said. "When I took over this office, I told the previous presiding commissioner that I would do anything and everything to assist the county in any way possible that I legally can."
Rollins said anytime one entity of county government cannot cooperate with another, there's an issue.
"The issue that I see with the (assessor's) office, more than anything else, is the management at the top," he said. "Quite honestly, the primary role of the assessor's office is service to and communication with the voters. That is the primary role of that office.
"If the elected assessor can cooperate with everyone else in county government and the elected assessor can develop all the necessary training and tools for the office staff, then the office staff can concentrate on their jobs. If you can do that, you're going to have the most efficient, well-run, happiest, highest-morale office in county government, and that's one of my goals."
If he's elected, Rollins said his relationship with the county commission will be different.
"I'm extremely accessible, and I'm not one who says it's my way or the highway," he said. "Again, I think it's very easy to disagree without being disagreeable."
Office staff and employee pay
Estes and Rollins both agree there are positions needed to be filled in the assessor's office.
The current assessor said the county needs a general certified appraiser, someone who can review every type of property. The previous general certified appraiser retired in 2013, and Estes said he's been trying to fill the position ever since. He said it's been difficult to find someone who is qualified for the job and willing to accept what the county will pay, which is $45,000-$50,000.
Estes has repeatedly asked the commission for raises for current employees and increased salary funding. Becoming a certified general appraiser requires six years of a combination of appraisal work, schooling and training, he said.
"Most people who are going to go to school for that long are going to go for a higher paying job than what (the county) is going to pay for an appraiser," Estes said.
Residential appraiser and commercial appraiser positions are also open.
Rollins said pay isn't the only reason the positions remain unfilled.
"I don't think it's an issue of there's not enough money," he said. "I think there's plenty of money to fill those spots, we just need to find somebody who's willing to work in that environment. I just think that a good working environment, an office with high morale, will bring more applicants in."
Estes listed five employees with a total of 83 years experience in the Cole County Assessor's office. Retaining those knowledgeable employees, he said, has allowed the office to be accurate and provide efficient customer service.
"Right now, this office is, I think, running at top efficiency," Estes said. "We're getting the job done, and we're getting the job done accurately. We're doing it with fewer people than we've had in the past. The only area that we need to improve on, like I said before, is finding a general certified appraiser to hire."
Rollins called the assessor's office staff "amazing." He said he's talked to nearly every person on staff, and he can't see any deficiencies. If he's elected, Rollins said he would "love them all to stay," as the employees are "very well educated, committed to their job, polite and easy to work with."
"The staff in itself is doing a fine job. I think that the staff needs more assistance," he said, referring to unfilled positions. "There's a reason why people aren't applying for those jobs. I know there's money in the budget to hire them, I know there's positions open, and I know that with my over 30 years of business experience - if I had the opportunity to serve as assessor - I know I could bring some good, quality people into that office to fill the void they have right now."
More about the candidates for Cole County Assessor: