Rutherford County Property Assessor faces ethics complaint
The Rutherford County Property Assessor, Rob Mitchell, has been accused of directing his staff to unlawfully withhold updates on property improvements by an employee who filed an ethics complaint with Rutherford County Trustee Teb Batey. The complaint highlights concerns about employee pay raises, improper record keeping, conflict of interest issues, and the hiring practices of Mitchell. It also claims senior management coerced resident appraisers to conceal value changes from the public by exempting properties from certain taxation. Appraisers were instructed to record changes found in 2026 and subsequent years, exempting adjustments from being made for two valuation-affected tax years, raising ethical, moral, and legal concerns among subordinate staff.
Ethical Violations
The complaint accuses the property assessor’s residential coordinator of instructing appraisers to review each of 300 accounts for the 2026 reappraisal year’s deadline, whereas they should have updated accounts in 2024. Furthermore, the residential coordinator was unable to provide the appraisers with any logical explanation for the policy change on updating property improvements. The complaint also accuses Mitchell of permitting a conflict of interest to exist because the residential coordinator also works as a real estate professional, prioritizing selling real estate during county-paid working hours over performing his primary job duties. This situation negatively affected team morale, as other employees perceived it as favoritism, especially since they were not permitted to work second jobs while on duty.
Impact on the Public Interest and County Revenue
The law requires the property assessor’s office to assess all improvements to ensure taxes reflect the current value of the property. Deviating from this structured process undermines the county’s revenue, affects the budget of every county office, impacts individual taxpayers, and invites potential legal concerns for the assessor’s office and Rutherford County. Hiding property changes or knowingly dismissing errors deprives taxpayers of their legal right to proper notification and to formally appeal value adjustments. This behavior violates several principles of the ethical policy, including impeding government efficiency, making decisions outside official channels, and eroding public confidence in the property assessor’s integrity.
Denial by Property Assessor
Mitchell denies all the recent ethics complaints filed against his office and states that he looks forward to addressing each and every complaint. He also confirms that his office follows the proper rules and processes and corrects its methods to avoid future issues. However, the ethics complaint’s allegations cast a shadow on the integrity and accountability of Rob Mitchell’s management of the County Property Assessor’s office.
Conclusion
The complaint against Rob Mitchell and the Rutherford County Property Assessor’s office highlights ethical concerns related to employee pay raises, improper record keeping, conflict of interest issues, and hiring practices. Furthermore, concealing value changes from the public invites potential legal concerns and exposes the assessor’s office and Rutherford County to a risk of revenue loss. Ultimately, the County Ethics Committee will be responsible for examining and evaluating the evidence presented to determine whether or not ethical violations have occurred.
Originally Post From https://www.dnj.com/story/news/2024/06/26/complaint-filed-against-rutherford-county-tennessee-property-assessor-rob-mitchell/74136136007/
