Video from forum below
Four candidates for Cole County assessor shared their thoughts on a variety of issues relating to the county office Thursday evening during the News Tribune's forum.
Rick Prather, Alex Meller, Jonathan Roy Meyers and incumbent Chris Estes are running for the position. All of the candidates are Republican, and the winner will run unopposed in November.
Rick Prather
Prather recently ended an eight-year stint on the Jefferson City Council representing Ward 1. During his time on the council, Prather served as chair of the budget committee.
Professionally, Prather has a background in accounting and insurance and is a part-owner of Vogel Insurance Group.
Prather said he feels he is qualified for the position because of his background working in finance and accounting.
"I've had the opportunity to value residential and commercial properties," Prather said.
He also said his experience in managing his own business and his time on the council would be a benefit to the position.
Prather said he stresses the importance of the assessor attending budget meetings for the county.
"(Not attending) makes it kind of difficult to explain why you need money and where you need it at," Prather said. "You have to be part of the entire process."
Prather said he has heard good things about the assessor's office staff, but he would like to improve communication between other county offices and the assessor.
"Communication is key to effectively and efficiently run government, and it helps to put aside differences to get a common goal and achieve a common goal as a team," Prather said.
Making sure to be fiscally responsible and not overspend are other improvements Prather would like to see.
"I'm running for the assessors office for one reason - I want what's best for the county, and I think we are currently being under-served by the assessor," Prather said. "I'm willing to get my hands dirty and dive in to get things right in the assessors office."
Story continues below video
Chris Estes
Chris Estes currently serves as assessor. He was appointed to the position in 2007 and has won re-election three times since. He has a background in law enforcement.
When asked why he is qualified to be the county assessor, Estes said the work is similar to his background in law enforcement.
"Being the assessor is a lot like being a police officer," Estes said. "You have a set of statutes and court decisions that it's your responsibility to apply to the public in a very equal manner. When we set a value on a property, we use every piece of information available to us."
Estes said it is important for the assessor to be accurate, and the position is vital to the county.
"If the assessor is not doing the job right, if the assessor is not accurate, you're not going to have accurate taxes," Estes said. "If you don't have this totally correct, you're doing a disservice to the county."
Estes said it's important the assessor works cooperatively with the other county offices. In Cole County, the finance department works for the county commission, unlike other counties in the state.
"That means that the county commissioners, who set the budget, are also the ones who decide how the budget money is spent so that gives them total spending control of everything in the county," Estes said.
Estes said he sees opportunities for improvement by having more control over the assessor's office be given back to the assessor from the Cole County Commission.
"The biggest difficulty we're dealing with right now is the lack of qualified applicants," Estes said, referring to applicants for appraiser positions.
In closing, Estes said the office has been in the top four most accurate assessor's offices in the state each year during his tenure, and he has maintained several members of the office's staff.
"We have an assessor's office that is extremely frugal with the funds they use," Estes said. "The assessor's office is one of the more technical, and it takes a specialized, technical training to complete it."
Alex Meller
Alex Meller is a local business owner of a lawn and landscape company and he oversees daily operations of his family's business, Payway Feed on Jefferson Street.
Meller is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in agricultural systems management. He is a lifelong Cole County resident.
Meller admitted his background doesn't necessarily qualify him for the position.
"I think that the learning curve is where I will make up for that," Meller said. "Through hard work in years of school and hard work in dealing with people everyday in retail, I'm used to working with people to make stuff work, to make fair assessments. If I can step into the office and do what I can to look for waste and also to serve everybody that's there, I'll try my best."
Meller said he views the county offices as a well-oiled machine and said they should all work together.
"They have to work with the others, otherwise it's not going to work," Meller said. "I think the challenges would be working with people and making sure the assessments are correct."
Meller said he would work with the county commissioners on budgeting so issues could potentially be dealt with before they came up.
When looking at the office, Meller said he could see an opportunity for improvement in the budget.
"If we could do a little bit of a better job with that, that would be the number one key for me," Meller said. "If there's waste anywhere that I can find it to save a little bit of money, that's the key items I could see without being in office."
In closing, Meller said, although he is young, he wants to step into government and do what he can for the people of Cole County.
"If I can serve them and do a good job, that's my goal for being the assessor," Meller said.
Jonathan Roy Meyers
Meyers works in the health care field and has some real estate experience. He has lived in Cole County for four years.
Meyers said he believes all of the candidates are qualified for the position, but he offers a skill set beyond the others and the position needs a fresh perspective.
"It will offer the talent that is needed as in this office as we go into relocation for the facility, evaluating equipment, understanding employee moral and addressing that, and most importantly dealing with the public to make sure they're satisfied because they must pay valuation tax."
When asked about how the assessor's office should work with other county officials, Meyers said they should focus on similarities and bringing people together.
"The challenge is to maintain communication, positive interaction and availability," Meyers said.
Meyers said he doesn't see any issues with the office, but sees the opportunity for some improvements including making sure facilities are kept clean, keeping the office efficient and bringing in new perspectives to the position in general.
"(The position) requires professionalism, dedication and honesty," Meyers said. "I will bring that to this position. I will be forthright and I will be available to you."