Logan County Supervisor of Assessments position remains unfilled

 

[July 23, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Tuesday, July 17, the Logan County Board held its Regular monthly meeting. One focus of discussion was the Supervisor of Assessments position.

The position opened after Denise Martinek recently announced her decision not to seek reappointment. On June 28, the board interviewed two candidates for the Supervisor of Assessment position in an executive session. At the July 10 Finance Committee meeting, committee members went into executive session to discuss the merits of the candidates.

At the end of the Finance Committee meeting, Board Chairman Chuck Ruben said he would motion to go out for new candidates in August.

At the prior Thursday’s Workshop, Finance Committee Chairman David Hepler said they planned to appoint Denise Martinek as Interim Supervisor of Assessments for 60 days to allow them time to find more candidates.

Board members Scott Schaffenacker and Kevin Bateman both asked why about the hiring delay since two candidates were interviewed on June 28th.

Bateman said one candidate had said he would be willing to be an interim assessor.

Ruben said the Finance Committee decided to extend the interviews to the August 14th, Finance Committee meeting.

The board then went into executive session to discuss the issue further.

On Tuesday, board member Gene Rohlfs made a motion to appoint the current Logan County Supervisor of Assessments Denise Martinek as Interim Assessor for up to 60 days after the conclusion of her term.

Rohlfs said he had been thinking about the issue the past few days and finds that there are technical, legal, and mathematical aspects to the position. He asked about Martinek’s performance in these areas.

County Clerk and Recorder Sally Turner said the county has had the number one as a multiplier for several years, which is fantastic. Turner said her office has had a good relationship with the Assessor’s Office.

Turner said Martinek has worked with the Geographical Information System and knows about the Enterprise Zones, TIF Districts, and values.

Rohlfs said Martinek has professionally earned some acclaim from other assessors and at the state level for her skills.

Rohlfs said he wanted to make a motion to appoint Martinek for four years, but Ruben said he couldn’t because it was not on the agenda.

The motion to appoint Denise Martinek as Interim Supervisor of Assessments for 60 days failed 8-3-1. Kevin Bateman, Dave Blankenship, Emily Davenport, Janet Estill, Gloria Luster, Bob Sanders, Scott Schaffenacker and Annette Welch voted no. Bob Farmer, Gene Rohlfs and Chuck Ruben voted yes. David Hepler abstained.

Ruben said County Board Administrative Assistant Amy Kuhlman will be posting a new ad for the Supervisor of Assessments position with qualifications listed. Resumes will be due by August 10, and another interview will be held on August 14.

Turner said in some counties the Supervisor of Assessment position is an elected position, so that may be something to consider for the future. The person seeking election must have the qualifications for the position.

A motion to approve a budget amendment for the Supervisor of Assessment’s salary was also brought forward.

Ruben said the county’s salary for the position is low compared to the rest of the state.

Bateman motioned to increase the budget line by $10,000. The budget line for the salary is now at $47,600, so it would increase to $57,600.

Davenport said she would like to motion to increase the salary to $65,500.

Ruben said that salary would be for a full year and this amendment would just be for the remaining months of this year.

Bateman said he would like to see a motion, so it calculates out to $65,500. When people ask about the salary, they could say the salary would be $65,000.

Ruben said the increase needed for the rest of the year would be about $6,000 but increasing the line by $10,000 would allow for contingencies. For example, if they had to hire an interim supervisor, there could be two people for a short period of time while the one was trained.

The amendment to increase the budget line to $57,600 passed 11-1 with David Hepler abstaining.

The main motion as amended passed 10-1-1. Bob Sanders voted no, and David Hepler abstained.

[Angela Reiners]