Dept. of Revenue: Assesssor's office not meeting legal requirements

The Wahkiakum County Assessor's office has many problems that need to be addressed, according to a draft report from the state Department of Revenue (DOR).

Assessor Bill Coons, who took office January 1, requested they inspect his office, report on shortcomings, and make recommendations to address them.

Coons presented draft findings to the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday. He said the DOR will probably issue its final version of the report sometime next week or soon after.

The report groups its findings into two categories. One is requirements; these have the greatest urgency and are needed to adhere to state law. The second is recommendations; these require the attention of the assessor and board of commissioners and they lay the groundwork for improvements to the office.

The department identified 23 requirements and 16 recommendations, Coons said.

The department noted that the assessor's office hasn't been meeting state law in reporting, handling personal property taxes, revaluation, segregations, listing new construction, calculating current use and so on.

"The report helps prioritize what we need to do," Coons said. "I can't fix everything at once."

He will meet with DOR staff to go over the report later this month and set priorities.

"It's very constructive and informative.

Coons also renewed his request to the board of commissioners for approval to amend his budget and pay for more extra help.

He added that he had a memorandum of understanding with the county employees union that would allow him to contract for professional services. It would be cheaper for the county to hire part-time extra help, he said, than to use a professional service contract.

Commissioners gave no response. In past weeks, they have objected to Coons's plan to use money in the professional services line item for extra help. They have said the money in the line item wasn't intended for extra help, and they aren't authorizing county departments to increase their extra help spending.