No one is running to Jasper County Assessor… What happens now?
NEWTON, Ill. (WTHI) – For the past several months, leaders in Jasper County, Illinois has tried many different ways to secure a county assessor.
Current Jasper County Assessor Paul Woods is retiring after twenty-eight years.
No one has ran as assessor to replace Woods.
Following the 2022 Primary Election, there was an opportunity for broth parties to caucus an individual.
Unfortunately, no candidate was added to the ballot.
The September deadline to write in a candidate passed with no luck, so the Jasper County Board began exploring different options to fill the vacancy.
“We actually were in talks with our surrounding counties to see if any of them would be interested in sharing a Supervisor of Assessments, and the talks didn’t pan out” said Jasper County Board Chairman Jason Warfel.
If unable to find a candidate, the county is looking at hiring someone as an office manager who will receive training and later take required exams to become certified as an assessor.
There are several qualifications that must be met to be the supervisor assessor.
Interested individuals must be certified from the Illinois Property Assessment Institute or the International Association of Assessing Officers.
“They also need to have to years of experience, either in property, sales, assessment, finance or appraisals and you have to complete an examination by the Department of Revenue” said Warfel.
Assessors play an important role in government.
One of the main responsibilities is assessing the value of all real estate within the county.
Just because there’s a vacancy, doesn’t not mean resident’s won’t have to pay property taxes.
In fact, residents may receive those property tax bills later than normal.
You can read the official vacancy letter and list of duties below. If you have questions or are interested in working as an assessor, you can contact Jason Warfel by calling 618-783-3124 or emailing jwarfel@jaspercountyil.org.
