Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Assessors race kicks off in O'Fallon

St. Clair County Assessor Gordon Bush said he hopes to add at least six more members to his staff in an effort to update property assessments, but his opponent in next year's election — Ed Cockrell, Sr. of New Athens — believes a change in leadership is the only path to proper assessments.

Bush — a Democrat from East St. Louis — spoke to the Metro East Pachyderm Club, a political club allied with the Republican National Committee, on Friday at O'Charley's restaurant in O'Fallon. Cockrell, a Republican member of the St. Clair County Board, is scheduled to speak at next the Pachyderm meeting on Friday, Nov. 13 at O'Charley's in O'Fallon.

Bush said correctly assessing all the homes in the county was a difficult task made harder with his office's current shortage of staff.

"It's a tough job to have in front of you, but we can fix it," Bush said, noting his office has grown from five to 25 staff members in the past four years.

Bush said his staff needs to grow by an additional six or seven people in order to fulfill its responsibility of assessing the county’s 160,000-plus parcels of property. Bush inherited a host of problems when he assumed the helm of the office in October 2005; most notable of which was the office’s failure to assess properties every four years as required.

To correct those problems the department has increased effeciency more than 40 percent with upgrades in equipment and personnel, Bush said.

Cockrell, a certified Illinois assessing officer, said the office was plagued with a lack of leadership that contributes to incorrect assessments and Bush’s request for more personnel was contradictory to his actions before the county’s Finance Committee, which Cockrell chairs.

"(Bush) had some people who retired, but it was presented to the county board that he didn’t want to replace those people," Cockrell said. "I understand you have to do less with more but an example has to be made with work ethic....I think that is what there has been a lack of example there."

Bush said recent efforts to increase the efficiency and customer service of his department have been successful and he is satisfied with the efforts of the St. Clair County Board to boost funding to the Assessor's Office.

"I'll deal with the hand that’s been dealt to me, and do the best I can," Bush said.

The Assessor's Office annual budget has increased from $810,000 in 2006 to currently more than $1,165,847, county records show.

The county board has also funded updating equipment for the field assessors and excluded the Assessor’s Office from recent budget cuts, Bush said.

Cockrell said his candidacy was based upon whether taxpayers feel they are getting their money’s worth from the Assessor's Office.

"The bottom line, the whole key to my campaign is going to be one thing — if you think assessments in this county are fair, you go ahead and vote for the incumbent. If you think you can make a difference, vote for Ed Cockrell," Cockrell said. "I can give you a multitude of examples of assessments being unfair throughout the county."

The lack of proper assessments has spurred the use of a township multiplier, which intends to correct the value of underassessed homes when determining property taxes by increasing the value of all property in a township. The Assessor's Office plans to assess all property in O'Fallon in 2010, according to Bush.

The township multiplier has raised the ire of OurTaxMoney.org, a local tax advocacy group, and the City of O'Fallon by annually boosting property taxes on all properties within the O'Fallon Township. For example, a township multiplier increased the assessed value of all homes in O'Fallon nearly four percent this year causing the owner of a $200,000 home to pay an additional $203 to $209 in property taxes in comparison to last year’s tax bill.

Cockrell said the township multipliers experienced in O'Fallon and East St. Louis were an "outrage" and spurred by unfair assessments under Bush’s watch.

"We can't blame him for his predecessor, but in the first full year in office, not one square inch of property was assessed," Cockrell said. "The overall mission of the assessor is to ensure the county tax burden is properly distributed. I can tell you from all four corners of the county, it is not. If it was, there wouldn’t be the high swings in the multiplier we have seen."

O'Fallon Finance Director Dean Rich said he anticipates about 60 percent of the homes in the city are underassessed in value and will likely face an increase in taxes when assessed next year. The remaining 40 percent of overassessed homes will likely see a decrease in taxes after assessment.

However, next year's assessments will likely negate the need for a township multiplier, according to Assessor’s Office Chief Deputy Anne Hudson.

dkelley@bnd.com