Reports
in several outlets released details of what we will be paying now-former Tax
Assessor Garrett Alexander since he “resigned” last week. It is startling to read in the Charlotte Observer
that he not only kept a job with
Mecklenburg County, but that he “offered his
resignation in a closed meeting on the condition he remain a county
employee in another job.” (emphasis
added)
Since
when does someone in his position make demands on offering his
resignation? Since when are those
demands accepted?
Pearson’s consulting firm was hired by the county to evaluate
the process and found dozens of problems with the Revaluation process Alexander
was in charge of, leading to tens of thousands of appeals, tens of millions of
dollars overcharged to county citizens, talk of having to take
North Carolina State Legislature action and millions more in work for the
county to fix the mess. All the while, many citizens are suffering with the daily reality of trying to pay the overcharges and trying to pay other bills. Many fear losing their homes over this and some have had to sell.
The result? Alexander’s
boss, County Manager Harry Jones, keeps his job (again). And Garrett Alexander keeps a county job as... Senior Fiscal Analyst. Salary:
$98,500 for now.
The Observer reported that in the closed session:
After the county manager told
commissioners he could find Alexander another position, they unanimously voted
to accept Alexander’s resignation.
Jones
reportedly complained bitterly he did not get a raise.
The new
Board of County Commissioners could correct both of these problems. They could also correct the 2011 appeals that
need to be corrected without having the State Legislature clean up the mess the
former board created. They should be too
embarrassed to ask. How much more time
and money will be wasted on incompetence?
- Order a
Board of Equalization and Review to set appointments within 2 hour blocks (at
least) with anyone who wants or needs a review.
The previous system of forcing people to come at 9 a.m. and remain all
day long, sometimes in to the evening, is ridiculous. Even the courts split the day in half. Some people paid attorneys (as they were
incorrectly instructed by Alexander/staff they needed) to sit with them for
hours on end, in addition to missing work and other hardships.
- Order time limits waived due to the lack of
due process and deal with the process in house.
- Order the Assessor/BER to provide support documents for their basis for
assessment to the tax payer—it’s only fair.
- And then have a fair meeting with tax payers to come to reasonable
valuation.
It would
be a lot cheaper than the arduous processes being proposed. And, it has a chance of producing an
equitable result.
See also previous post with details of Revaluation review recommendations:
