County could have saved hundreds of thousands this year by addressing appraisals
Today is November 28, 2009, which means reporting what was spent in 2008, $459,148, to “drive by appraisers” could have been dealt with quite some time ago. Employees have been laid off by the County, some in departments such as Jobs and Family Services where there has been an increased demand in needs. We don’t know what has been spent so far in 2009, a good part of the Blade article, Telb will shift appraisal job to deputies focuses on the whole “who deserves credit” aspect of who was the person to get the Sheriff to finally start looking into using his own staff instead of outside paid contractors.
The interpersonal drama between the three commissioners may be entertaining for some, but to me, it demonstrates part of what is wrong with our current government (even beyond the commissioners), for some it’s more about who can run out to the media as the one who scored the “home run” as opposed to remembering a simple concept, it’s pretty hard for someone to score a home run if they are playing by themselves…
This story also shows you the pattern of preferential treatment some members of my party receive, while some will try to argue that they have the credentials and experience? There are scores of real estate appraisers in this area, it’s hard to believe the best and the most cost effective happen to be those named in the Blade (though they don’t name all nine, which I hope to discover):
The highest-paid appraiser last year was $150,342 to Dennis Isenberg, the son of former Lucas County Commissioner Sandy Isenberg and a cousin of current Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop. All are Democrats, as is Sheriff Telb.
In addition to Dennis Isenberg, the appraisers include his father, Marshall Isenberg, ex-husband of Ms. Isenberg and a prominent local Democrat, and Domenic Montalto, a well-known political operative for Democratic candidates.Records from the sheriff’s office show that Mr. Montalto was the second-highest paid appraiser for 2008 with $93,717, and Marshall Isenberg was paid $78,517. Six other appraisers split the rest.
Those six who are not named, earned a total of $136,572, not as dramatic as those listed above, but an average additional income average of $22,762 would be a nice bonus income for many in this area and since Tom Troy states they are all Democrats, unless he’s just referencing just those named are all Democrats, it’d be nice to know/be able to verify this:
Last year, the nine appraisers were paid a total of $459,148 by buyers at auction – money the county would like to have for its own. Moving the work in-house could preserve the jobs of some deputies and it would make the money available for the county’s general fund.
The highest-paid appraiser last year was $150,342 to Dennis Isenberg, the son of former Lucas County Commissioner Sandy Isenberg and a cousin of current Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop. All are Democrats, as is Sheriff Telb.
I’m also concerned about the process and how using Sheriff staff will meet the requirements of the law, if it’s stated that three independent appraisers are required, if they all were Democrats, if three got the most of the jobs, if they are all Sheriff staff, how does that meet the requirement of “independent”? I’m curious as to how do other counties do this function required by the State. It also shows you how many appraisals were done if the charge is $35.00 per appraiser:
State law requires three independent appraisals of each property up for sheriff’s auction. The appraisers agree on a value for each property and that value is used to set the minimum bid in the sheriff’s auctions held in the county courthouse. Through the county, property buyers pay each appraiser $35 for a residential valuation, with the money being collected out of the receipts from the sale.
You’ll also notice if you do some simple math, that the numbers don’t add up – $35 is not evenly divided by $150,342 – nor is the total figure of $459,148 – which leads to more questions as to why?
I also wonder why this is something even done by the office of the Sheriff, we have a Lucas County Auditor, a Recorder, a Treasurer, it would seem that either one of those three offices, especially the Auditor and the Treasurer, would be better prepared to actually deal with assessing a value or better served to manage a program of “independent appraisers.”
I’d recommend before the Sheriff create a new program that the process actually be looked at, if for some strange reason, Ohio law requires that the office of the Sheriff have to manage the appraisal process, logic seems to dictate that those in the County that actually deal with tax and values of properties might have some suggestions/valuable input into how this could be done in a manner that is a) more cost effective and b) creates accurate appraisals. There’s no reason why this can not be done before 2010…
As to the questions raised? We’ll see what I can discover and what those of you who read here have to share…
Always thought this was a dirty deal. I saw some of the appraisal amounts in the last year or so and they were so far off from what the place actually sold for in the free market.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:15 pmYou raised another factor, how accurate were the appraisals…
November 28th, 2009 at 3:19 pmSomeone raised speculation in a previous thread that the daily rag would need a new victim de jour now that they’ve successfully beaten Skeldon out of his job. It appears this entire article was about getting Gerken for not following the publisher’s orders to kill Skeldon’s employment. What is surprising is the head of the UAW is now assisting in the underhanded efforts of the publisher. In the past, the UAW has stood against the publisher’s practices. Too bad Lortz doesn’t “get it”.
Meanwhile Konop sells out his relatives at the behest of the publisher…it’s going to be a nasty holiday season for the Konop/Isenberg clan. Ben needs a lesson in “family before publisher” training.
I wonder…did Troy put the game in play for the home run? Sounds like the game and the home run was all arranged by the daily to create the competition. And unfortunately, the game created by the publisher is not about baseball, it’s about people’s lives and how best to destroy them. No wonder we get nothing accomplished in this community when everyone is too busy either protecting reputations or maliciously destroying them.
We will all look forward to the results of your expert research on this issue, Lisa. We count on your unbiased reporting of the facts.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:32 pmThis is done by the Sheriff because that’s what Ohio law requires.
The persons doing the appraisal merely have to be “disinterested freeholders, residents of the county where the lands” are located. No special training or certification is required by law.
November 29th, 2009 at 12:50 amThat’s interesting, the Blade article makes it appear that special training would be required…
November 29th, 2009 at 12:56 amWell, if not special training is required why pay any of them much money when they may not even know what they are doing??
Doesn’t the law need updated and changed??
November 29th, 2009 at 1:16 amI would think that only appraisers holding licenses issued by the state of Ohio would be allowed to conduct these types of appraisals. Otherwise the door would be open for politcal kickbacks and patronage and that just would not be allowed.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:04 amNo Ron, Ohio law requires no training. The only qualifications are that the person be disinterested, own property in Lucas County and be a County resident.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:23 amNo, training, etc?? I’ll do it for half the amount of money they
November 29th, 2009 at 11:53 amhave been paying all the others!!
Jenny, I’ve been starting to research this, if you have a specific reference in the ORC or the OAC, that would be very helpful for me.
November 29th, 2009 at 3:29 pmI’ll be glad to work with DD Boots as an appraiser for the county. I’ll take the same salary DD Boots wants.
November 29th, 2009 at 7:57 pmLisaRenee,
The statutes dealing with Sheriff’s sales are confusing and scattered throughout the ORC. However, I suggest you start withe R.C. 2329.17.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:23 pmThanks, they are scattered, so I appreciate your help.
November 29th, 2009 at 8:25 pmDidn’t Montalto work for Ray Kest?
November 29th, 2009 at 10:18 pmYes, he did.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:20 pmGiven that Montalto worked for Ray Kest Lucas County Treasurer, one has to ask. How far back does this cronyism go?
November 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pmOh it goes way back justin. Jim O’Neal also worked for Ray Kest, who just wanted to get in his 30 years. He is now doing a job he’s not qualified for and wanting to retire and come back,like so many others on the sheriffs dept.
November 30th, 2009 at 8:25 pm