A record of service

By Dusty Rhodes

Cutting staff, returning unspent funds, leading the way in accountability and transparency and removing politics and special deals from property appraisals.

Each year I have returned unspent funds to the County General Fund. The total is now close to $3,000,000. Following each full reappraisal I have returned unspent funds to local governments and schools. That amount is over $19,000.000. If the law had allowed, I would have given it back directly to taxpayers.

Our office is a leader in accountability and transparency. We were one of the first offices nationwide to make public property records available to every citizen on the Internet. Our website (hcauditor.org) has as many as 10,000 users each day. Ours was the first County office to put our expenditures on the Internet for public review.

Following a scandal involving favoritism and special deals I pledged to restore integrity to property valuations by by following state law to the letter. And I have done so. We have removed politics from property valuations.

The State Tax Commissioner oversees our work. Not once - in 20 years - has the State Tax Commissioner failed to approve our reappraisals. And our Neighborhood Conferences which allow property owners to participate directly in the valuation process have been copied by County Auditors across the state.

I will continue to perform the statutory duties of County Auditor with integrity and independence while emphasizing outstanding customer service, excellent public information and efficient use of taxpayer resources.