Wright or Gibson, Assessor Position Up For Grabs

Talk about a tough decision to make.   Jackson County voters are marking ballots right now in anticipation of the May 18 primary election.  The Commissioner races and District Attorney have dominated what local media there is covering the election.  But I propose to you that the county assessor may be the most important position of all.
On last Saturday’s Real Estate Show, current assessor Josh Gibson and challenger, appraiser Roy Wright, appeared together to answer questions from me and my broadcast partner Joe Brett on KMED.  The show is available on iTunes and on this website.
The assessor has one responsbility — to set the Real Market Value of property in Jackson County.  Prior to Measure 50, property taxes were levied at 1.5% of the Real Market Value.  So if values went up, so did property taxes and if they went down, well you get the picture.  Measure 50 created a separate assessed value, based on 1995 levels, that would rise by 3% per year.   Therefore the assessor no longer is tied to property tax values but the Real Market Value.  The RMV is the price the home should sell for in a normal market.  It went down 9% countywide on January 1, 2012.
The RMV still determines an approximate value to residential and commercial properties.  The candidates agreed that the office needed reform after former assessor Dan Ross resigned amid staff turmoil   Gibson says he saw what happened and has already implemented changes in the office and the way appraiser do their work.
So we have an interesting choice for assessor.  Gibson is a young, energetic, smart man with little experience due to his age but graps the challenges ahead for the department.  Wright is a long-time appraiser who wants to make training his top priority to get more accurate appraisals for property owners.  They agree on the most things, one is a young and upcoming incumbcant, appointed to the position, while the other is a well know local appraisers who ran before for the office in 2008 but lost to Ross.
Whoever prevails has to prove we are getting accurate appraisals because so much rides on their numbers for thousands of property owners.  If Wright wins, I hope he retains Gibson in the office, and if Gibson wins,  I hope he would use Wrights experience to assist him.
Both are independent men.  Gibson had the best live of all saying the assessor should remain an elected position responsible to the voters of the county and not to the county administrator.  Amen to that.  Good Luck to both.