Clark Township Board of Trustees will interview candidates for the township assessor position Friday, August 26. The Board had received three applications at its Thursday, August 18 meeting, including Bradley Beach, a Level III Assessor from Lake Isabella, Cynthia and Richard Oliver, both Level IIs from St. Ignace, and Barbara Torsky, a Level II from Mesick. They have proposed salaries ranging from $51,000 to $62,400. With fringe benefits and associated costs, proposals range from $63,000 and $100,000 to staff Clark Township’s assessing department.

Audience comments at the August 18 meeting demonstrated public concern about the post, that has been described as difficult and complex by previous assessors, and Mackinac County Equalization Director Jim Fenlon warned trustees to take care in hiring an assessor.

“This has got to be accepted by everybody,” he said. “It’s not going to be an easy job to jump into. There’s got to be a lot of communication, and you need to have someone fairly competent to do the job and you need to support them.”

The township’s reappraisal over the past five years as affected hundreds of property owners. Doreen Freeborn, who led the reappraisal, worked for four years to update the long-neglected rolls, which included placing omitted properties on the tax rolls and denying homestead exemptions to several cottage owners and commercial properties. The work involved presenting her decisions for Clark Township at the Michigan State Tax Commission. Her successor, Christina Thompson, resigned August 16 citing too little compensation for too much work.

Clark Township trustees want to find a replacement as soon as possible. Two applications were received for an August 10 special meeting and the third was submitted after that. Trustees decided to accept applications at least until August 17, although several feared the state will become impatient.

Mr. Fenlon told the Board at the August 17 meeting that it does not have to rush into a decision.

“I think you’re going to get some qualified applicants whether it’s now or a bit later,” he said.

Whether the Board receives any additional applications, it has at least three diverse proposals to choose from.

Mr. Beach, a Level III assessor, is asking $62,400 a year for a 40-hour work week and any benefits Clark Township offers. He has 10 years experience and has been an equalization director and county appraiser. He claims proficiency in assessment software and state and equalization reporting. He believes Clark Township’s assessing department needs a full-time and part-time assessor, and he would like to choose a part-time assessor to assist him at additional cost. He also asks additional compensation for pending State Tax Tribunal cases. Township Supervisor Linda Hudson estimated his salary, benefits, and assistant will amount to about $100,000.

Cynthia and Richard Oliver ask $35,000 salary for 40 hours for Mrs. Oliver and $25,000 for Mr. Oliver for contractual work. Mr. Oliver has been a Level II assessor for about two years and is assessing three other townships. Mrs. Oliver has passed her Level II assessor’s exam, but has not yet received state certification. She is the assistant to the Mackinac County Board of Commissioners and has been a county employee for almost 20 years. The Olivers will not consider taking the position separately, Mrs. Hudson said. Mrs. Oliver would receive benefits, but Mr. Oliver will purchase health insurance through Clark Township’s program at his own expense. With benefits and associated department costs, the township would spend about $70,150, Mrs. Hudson estimated.

Mrs. Torsky is a former Cedarville resident who has 12 years of experience, starting as an assessors assistant in 1993. She has worked for the Wexford County Equalization Department, City of Cadillac, and noted that she has experience assessing commercial properties and calculating commercial personal property statements. She has requested $13.75 per parcel, which would make her salary $51,000. She would participate in the township’s health insurance plan, and she asked additional compensation of $100 per day plus costs for Tax Tribunal hearings. She also requested the township pay liability insurance coverage, continuing education, applicable mileage, and department supplies. She said she would work on an annual contract. Salary, benefits, and additional expenses would cost the township $63,000, Mrs. Hudson estimated.

Trustees discussed negotiating the salary requests with the candidates, and Tom Augugliaro, who was seated in the audience, suggested offering counter proposals to those that were submitted.

John Thompson, who was seated in the audience, asked the Board if they required the previous assessor, Christina Thompson, to work five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and questioned the amount of salary the board was now looking at after paying his wife, Christina, $26,000 and Mrs. Freeborn $41,000.

“How could you go from $41,000 to $26,000, and now as much as $100,000?” he asked.

Trustee Tammy Cruickshank said Mrs. Thompson was hired for $26,000 because she did not have her Level II certificate and had not renewed her license at the time she applied for the position.

Treasurer Katie Van-Eenenaam Carpenter said the board was not fully aware of the assessing department workload until now, and that Mrs. Thompson never asked for help or additional compensation, and she noted that Clark Township went from four people working in the assessing department to one. Mrs. Freeborn and her husband, Dave, worked for $41,000, and previous Supervisor Bob Smith and Mrs. Thompson both assisted Mrs. Freeborn.

Mrs. Hudson said she offered Mrs. Thompson assistance by reducing her hours and hiring an assistant, and later, asked if she would be interested in another arrangement.

“I asked if she would be interested in continuing a relationship with Clark Township, whether it was full-time or part-time, and she never got back to us,” Mrs. Hudson said. “She never said the issue was money.”

“I don’t see what else we can do besides interview these applicants,” Mrs. Hudson said after the Board and audience rehashed Mrs. Thompson’s employment.

Mrs. Cruickshank reminded everyone of the importance of people skills in their search for an assessor, and that the Board “will look very closely at that, and whether they are able to explain things to the public.”

Mr. Fenlon suggested that Clark Township, in the future, post tax assessment cards online, so taxpayers and residents can have access to the information on the cards without requiring the assessor to physically remove them from the files.