Experience, change at forefront of Assessor of Property race

Feb. 12—Experience vs. time for a change.

That's what the two contenders for Property Assessor touted as their platforms during the Cumberland County Republican Party's candidate forum Thursday.

"I have over 33 years of hands-on experience in the Assessor's office," said incumbent Sandy Gilbert, who is seeking her first full term in the upcoming election. "I have proven dedication to my office and the citizens of Cumberland County."

Gilbert was appointed to the office soon after the May 2021 death of Property Assessor Lori Powell. She was chosen by the voters to complete Powell's term during a special election in 2022.

"The assessor's office needs improvement, and I know that I'm capable of making that change," opponent Kelli Tipton Buchannon said. "I'm the only candidate with a sizable amount of actual leadership experience and proven results under their belt."

During the forum's closing statements, Buchannon caught Gilbert and the audience by surprise with a remark about a matter Gilbert had before the Tennessee State Board of Equalization. Gilbert was not provided an opportunity to rebut. See related story, page 1.

The candidates

Gilbert and Buchannon are both Republicans who will face off in the March 5 county primary. No Democrats are running. With the qualifying deadline passed, the winner's name will be the only one on the ballot for the Aug. 1 county election.

Buchannon was among three Republican candidates who sought to oust Gilbert

in 2022. She fell 444 votes short, with 3,101 votes to Gilbert's 3,545.

Both are lifelong Cumberland Countians. Gilbert lives on a farm with Darrell, her husband of 34 years. They have three children and five grandchildren. Buchannon is a newlywed who exchanged vows with her husband, Drew, in August. She is the founder and owner of Grace Givers Home Care, an in-home senior care business based on Peavine Rd.

They have also taken different paths to success. Buchannon has gained 12 years of leadership and management experience in the private sector with involvement in various community and civic groups including Alzheimer's Tennessee, Rotary, Fairfield Glade Ladies Club, Crossville-Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce, the county Republican Party and Young Professionals Alliance.

"I'm a busy person. It's in my DNA," she said. "I strive to be a high achiever and make a positive change where I can to help others."

Buchannon said she worked long hours to establish her business and develop the skillset for leading the Assessor's office. In addition, it enabled her to hire and work with supervisors who can operate her business without her day-to-day presence, allowing her to devote herself full time to public office.

"Leadership is a transferrable skill. Creating efficient processes and customer convenience is a transferrable skill. Being budget minded is a transferrable skill. Customer service is a transferrable skill, and promoting organizational well-being is a transferrable skill," Buchannon said.

"We hear about organizations coming under new management all the time that have come from another industry and business and become even more successful because that leader could think outside of the box and have a different perspective. All those attributes are items that I will not have to learn on the taxpayer dime."

Gilbert has devoted her career to the Assessor's office. She said she started in the field with a tape measure and worked her way up.

"I do not belong to all the committees or groups, but I do belong to the International Association of Assessing Officers, which pertains to the assessor's office," she said "I have proven dedication to my office and the citizens of Cumberland County. I work from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. alongside my staff, providing guidance and assisting in any way I can. I have knowledge in each department of the office."

Gilbert stressed she has an established relationship with state offices that monitor the Assessor's office, and that she meets with them frequently to stay updated on legislative changes that affect the office.

"It would take a new assessor many years to fully learn the responsibilities of these jobs," she said.

"I feel I'm the best candidate for property assessor because I already have the necessary knowledge and experience and have proven I can carry out the responsibilities of the job."

Employee turnover

Buchannon said she discovered via a public records request to Cumberland County human resources that the Assessor's office experience a 109% staff turnover rate since July 2021.

"Simply put, the turnover rate is astronomical," she said. "One hundred and nine percent means that out of 11 positions in the office, 12 total people left since July 2021, when our incumbent was appointed."

Buchannon said that's 3,000% over what the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports as 3% in local county employee turnover rates.

"We don't need to be having to spend time on training new staff, plus losing the dollars invested into the employees that left," she said.

Gilbert said payscale in her office has prompted many to leave.

"Unfortunately the assessor does not get to decide employee salaries and, although I will always fight for pay increases for my employees, there is no immediate solutions at this time," she said.

"Yes, I have had turnover in my office," she said. "Out of those 11 people, five of those left my office for higher-paying jobs. I can't control that, and I don't blame them. People have to make a living. Two of them left to open their own businesses, one of them retired, and when I hire someone, they're on a 90-day probationary period. If they don't work out, then they're let go. There was three of those. And one, he retired. I had two that was discharged: one was for violating absenteeism policy, and one was discharged for violating our abusive conduct policy. So, yes, I have had people go through my office. But I do have a very good staff now. I'm proud of every one of them, and we all work great together."

Buchannon addressed Gilbert's reply in her closing statement.

"I also promise to maintain professionalism in HR practices," she said. "I do not feel it's appropriate as an elected official — or any professional, for that matter — to splatter a laundry list of reason for firing employees all over social media or candidate forums."

Reappraisals and assessments

Among the many duties of the Assessor's office is countywide reappraisals to bring values up to date with buying and selling in the current market. Cumberland County reappraises property every five years.

"The Comptroller's office has mentioned wanting counties to go from four- to five- and six-year cycles to two-, three- and four-year cycles," Gilbert said. "No decision has been made final on this and in the end, the county commission would vote on that decision for Cumberland County. But it is still something to start planning for if we do go in that direction."

Cumberland County's last reappraisal was in 2022.

"Much of the county saw a big increase in their assessments," Gilbert said. "The most common misconception was that property owners believed the numbers they were seeing was a difference between tax year '21 and '22. In reality, the '22-year appraisal was based on sales for the tax year 2017-2022, a five-year time period."

She continued, "If we had more frequent reappraisals, this would prevent a big sticker shock when the real estate market is high, and you would not have to wait five years for a possible decrease in the value if the market was to crash."

Buchannon said taxpayers have told her about problems with their assessments, including errors.

"Over the last year and a half, I have been approached by numerous property owners who were concerned over errors made within the office as well as the timing of when they received their assessment change notices from the Assessor's office, just days after the last election," Buchannon said, referring to the 2022 county primary that took place May 3, 2022.

Gilbert responded to that while detailing her office's duties.

"The assessor oversees countywide reappraisals every five years to bring values up to date with what property is buying and selling for in the current market," she said. "We create and maintain assessment rolls and notify property owners of value changes."

She added, "And the assessment notices that went out in '22? Those notices have to go out the first of May. So it doesn't matter who would have been in the office. Those notices would have still went out."

Buchannon said taxpayers had also told her changes had been made to their assessed values with only a phone call to the Assessor's office.

"Not that there was any factual error with the assessment, but they were able to get their values lowered substantially just by calling," she said. "The property assessor's office does this by decreasing the effective year on the assessment to an older effective year, which makes the quality rating go down, and therefore, the value go down. My objection with this is if we have 65, 66, 67,000 parcels of land in the county and only 1,000 people call, how is that fair to the other 64,000 that didn't? We don't all speak up. A lot of times, we just get our bill and go on."

She continued, "If the assessment were completed accurately there shouldn't be a reason for people to have to call or for assessments to be lowered in the first place."

Gilbert denied that.

"Yes, sometimes I do change values, but we go look at the property before I ever change anything," she said. "I had someone come in one day this week and said that the floors was falling in. We only look at the exterior of the home. We never go in a home unless a property owner asks us to come in and look at something. So I had my field workers to go out and look at the property — the issues they had — and yes, I did change those values."

She added, "I cannot change values just because I want to. Not just because you're my friend or whoever. I do not change values."

Closing words

Gilbert touted her experience and boasted a knowledgeable and hardworking staff.

"I also take my personal commitment to the taxpayers very seriously, which is why I am in the office every day," she said. "If elected again, I will continue to show up every day, and there will be no interruption to the daily work in the office with staff trying to adjust to a new assessor and their changes. The assessor position is a full-time job, which I have fully devoted my time and attention to during my tenure and will continue to do so. My unwavering dedication to this position is evident in my tireless efforts to provide the highest level of service to our community."

She added, "I am running this election on my integrity, my honesty, my dedication and my experience. These qualities have been my driving force behind my accomplishments thus far and they will continue to guide me as I strive to serve Cumberland County.

Buchannon reminded the audience that she has continued to work toward her goal of assuming the office.

"I have spent a lot of time over the last couple of years preparing to be a really good Assessor of Property," she said. "I do want to make sure things are done fairly and equitably for everyone. I want to make sure the staff is empowered and educated, and we're represented appropriately at the state level."

She vowed to maintain a decorum of professionalism and be prepared should she have to defend assessments at the county or state level.

"I promise not to disregard the authority I'm given if I'm elected. I promise to maintain an attitude of fairness, and I do hope make sure fairness is achieved before people have to complain," Buchannon said.

"It doesn't matter how many years of experience someone has if the positive results aren't there," she added. "My goal is to assure all residents of Cumberland County that their local assessor cares and is dedicated to their interests."