Surrey rehires fired assesor
At a special Surrey Township Board meeting July 27th Assessor Frank Gentz’s contract with the township was renewed.
At the June meeting the board had voted not to renew his contract when it expired July 31 and to hire a new assessor. The vote came after discussion and a lengthy conference call with State Department of Treasury Executive Director Kelli Sobel.
The contract termination was recommended by Surrey Township Supervisor Richard Miller after he received complaints from the Department of Treasury, State Tax Commission regarding what Sobel called “disrespectful” behavior during and meeting with a State legislator about the State’s Mini 14-Point Review.
Surrey Township was one of 12 townships in Clare County that failed the mini-review because of the State “recommendation” that 20 percent of all properties be physically inspected each year, part of the criteria in the review.
In June, Sobel said it is not a State mandate, but a recommendation, adding that State Statute requires reassessment of all township property annually. “We know that isn’t physically possible,” she said. She also said the township’s mini-review needed other corrections.
At the special meeting July 27th, the board reviewed three assessor applications and the interviews that were held on July 20 and 22. Also reviewed was a letter, received July 27 from Sobel saying “The Township has made progress correcting the deficiencies noted in the 14-Point Review” and that “land value determinations appear to be in good shape.”
After discussion, the Board decided that it would be in the best interest of the Township if Gentz were kept as the assessor. “By keeping Frank as the assessor we keep his four years of experience with the township and we will save the township $7,000 to $14,000 in price differences,” Miller said in a news release.
He added that he would set aside his personal differences and set goals to work with Gentz to maintain relations with residents and businesses. “It’s time to move on and start getting our meetings back to normal and focus on the positive things for Surrey Township,” Miller said.
