By HOLLY GASKILL
In a brief 30-minute meeting Thursday afternoon, the Wells County Council approved final financial matters and 2024 board appointments. Their decisions were nearly unanimous, excluding their appointment to the Property Tax Assessments Board of Appeals.
The council voted 4-2 for Judy Affolder to retain her appointment to the board, with council members Seth Whicker, Vicki Andrews, Scott Elzey and Todd Mahnensmith in favor and Brandon Harnish and Steve Huggins opposed. Council member Brian Lambert was absent.
Harnish proposed the board could benefit from the perspective of someone in-county and with a realtor background. He also took issue with Affolder being a former assessor in Adams County, saying her background could be perceived as biased to uphold the Wells County assessor’s ruling.
In the meeting’s audience, Assessor Laura Roberts’ jaw dropped at the latter statement.
Harnish had voiced similar concerns last year, although not serving on the council at the time. Harnish then motioned for applicant Bev Gryzch, an Ossian realtor, to fill the position.
Whicker, however, expressed a desire to have someone with higher-level qualifications on the board, as recommended by the state. “I think we have to have somebody, at least, that is a level two or three assessor or appraiser on that board, and if we don’t have anybody at all, that does concern me,” Whicker explained.
Andrews added, “I appreciate (Gryzch) applying, I really do. I do think she has a lot of knowledge in the real estate area. However, I do feel like Judy, having the level three (certification) is important. Because I believe I talked to Laura last year about that, and they needed somebody who had a certification level. That’s that would be the best way to handle that.”
Huggins seconded Harnish’s motion, and the vote failed 2-4 for the appointment, with Harnish and Huggins voting in favor.
Other board appointments were Whicker to the 911 advisory board, Andrews to the Wells County Chamber of Commerce and Solid Waste District, Mahnensmith to the EMA and EMA advisory boards, Ezley to Bluffton NOW and Wells County Convention and Visitors Commission, Huggins to Economic Development, Lambert to Wells County Trails, Harnish to Community Corrections advisory board, Tony Garton to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Jerome Markley to the Area Plan Commission, Zane Herr to the Visitors Commission and Leon Berning to the Regional Sewer District.
A series of line item transfers were also approved to close this year’s budget.
holly@news-banner.com
