Assessor will be opposed in general election

William Ellis was taken off the Monroe County primary ballot for assessor in February for not having his level three assessor-appraiser certification, but will likely be back in the race for the general election when the county votes to fill the empty Republican Party ballot slot.

Ellis recently received his certification April 1. Although he still cannot take part in the primary, the Republican Party can hold a caucus of all Precinct committeemen and vote him in. This is only allowed when there are no other candidates on the ballot running for the position.

Since Ellis is the only Republican certified to run, he said he will get the nomination after the primary, which puts him on the ballot for the general election.

“The party chairman and everybody considers me the candidate currently,” Ellis said. “I still have campaign finance open. It’s the first time in 10 years anyone has challenged our current assessor.”

Ellis criticized the election laws for favoring the incumbents more than the challengers. Current Assessor Judy Sharp does not have her level three certification and does not have to get it unless she decides to run again four years from now, Sharp said. Ellis, on the other hand, does have the certification.

“There are two different standards for incumbent and challenger,” Ellis said. “If you have a lower standard for an incumbent and a higher standard for the challenger, that can be a problem.”

Certification aside, Sharp said Ellis still cannot run because he does not own property in Monroe County, but Ellis is not discouraged and has continued to campaign against his opponent.

Last week, Sharp announced at the Monroe County Council meeting the county had settled a 7-year-old appeal that will cost the county and other taxing units $705,000 in tax refunds to The Fields, an apartment complex on Fenbrook Lane.  

In 2007, an out-of-state company purchased The Fields for $34 million. As soon as the company bought the property, it appealed the county’s assessment of $33.8 million. Sharp said the owners wanted it for $22 million, but the Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals disagreed, sending the appeal to the state.

Years later, the assessor’s office, under Sharp’s leadership, and the owners agreed on an assessment value of $28 million, but because the appeal sat untouched for so many years at the state level, it gained interest.

“I couldn’t take the chance of going from $35 million down to $22 or $23 million,” Sharp said. “It was bad enough going from $33.8

million to $28. It would’ve been double that if I had lost and, frankly, I don’t know what would have happened.”

Ellis, however, said he doesn’t think the county should let Sharp’s decision slide.

“What will happen in December, the township, the people who got that money, the schools, all the taxing districts are going to have to repay that to the county,”
Ellis said. “The schools in that area are going to have to pay close to $320,000 in tax revenue.”

Sharp admitted this is the largest appeal she has ever lost and acknowledges Bloomington and the Monroe County Community School Corporation will be the hardest hit, along with the Monroe County Public Library and the Monroe County Solid Waste Management District. She asks, however, that the losses in tax dollars be put into perspective.

“Remember, you’re talking $700,000,” Sharp said. “The total assessed value in Perry City is over $3 billion with a ‘b.’ When you’re making millions of taxes each year, you have to put that in perspective.”

However, Sara Laughlin, director of the MCPL, feels differently about the impact the tax refunds will have on the library.

“The total for us is $31,466.04, so that is a staff position and benefits for us,” Laughlin said. “It’s not an insignificant amount and, of course, we’re always horrified when we find out about any loss in our budget because it really impacts our services.”