GOP assessor candidates concerned by high taxes

By Ray Weikal

The word “fair” comes up a lot in conversations about local property taxes with Republicans Mike Ebenroth and Alicia Bedgood.

Ebenroth and Bedgood will face off in the Republican primary for the Clay County assessor’s race Tuesday, Aug. 5.

Though the two Northland residents come from different places in life, they share a desire to see more fairness in the way local property taxes are assessed. A lot of Clay County residents are fed up with taxes that leap in reassessment years, Ebenroth said.

“I’m concerned about rising taxes and the additional burden on taxpayers,” he said.

That was a sentiment share by Bedgood.

“I really don’t think that they are assessing homes fairly,” she said. “I know mine went up. I don’t think that it’s fair for everyone.”

Assessments should be more attuned to actual economic conditions, according to Bedgood. It makes no sense for property owners to experience big assessment leaps when the overall economy is down, she said.

“Everybody’s noticed how bad things are with the economy, and homes aren’t selling as fast,” Bedgood said. “Everything really needs to be looked at and reassessed. Considering that the economy is so down, I think it needs to be redone.”

Fairness begins with the way the assessor runs his or her office, according to Ebenroth. He pledged to have an open door policy in order to facilitate the needs of the public.

“I want to make the office open and available to all citizens,” Ebenroth said. “Same way with my staff. I want to treat them as fairly as possible.”

Professionalism, according to Ebenroth, is another key facet of a successful county assessor. A top-notch and well-run staff can prevent legal problems, he said, like the recently resolved Ford Motor Co. lawsuit over the assessment of its Claycomo plant.

Problems will be solved “by having the right people in place to perform the field work, so that properties are assessed fairly,” he said. “I feel like I would bring professionalism to the office.”

Both candidates are running for county office for the first time. The winner of the Republican primary will face incumbent Cathy Rinehart in the general election. Rinehart is a Democrat who is running unopposed in the primary.

Staff writer Ray Weikal can be reached at 389-6637 or rayweikal@npgco.com.