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Opinion
I am supporting Hannah Faith Lee for Lake County assessor-recorder in the June 7 election.
I support Hannah Faith Lee for assessor-recorder because she wants to improve the department such as setting measurable goals and being accountable for them, communicating with the public about issues affecting their wallets, finally getting the electronic recording program implemented and allowing the title companies to come in when they need to.
Public officials should be able to answer questions from the public. If you run for public office, your focus should be on serving the public. Meet with your constituents and work together to try and resolve apparent problems.
We need change and the time is now.
Heidi Johnson lives in Kelseyville, California.
I support Hannah Faith Lee for assessor-recorder because she wants to improve the department such as setting measurable goals and being accountable for them, communicating with the public about issues affecting their wallets, finally getting the electronic recording program implemented and allowing the title companies to come in when they need to.
Public officials should be able to answer questions from the public. If you run for public office, your focus should be on serving the public. Meet with your constituents and work together to try and resolve apparent problems.
We need change and the time is now.
Heidi Johnson lives in Kelseyville, California.
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- Written by: Heidi Johnson
Several weeks ago, I attended the Judge’s Breakfast in Clearlake. I was intrigued by some comments made by Patrick Sullivan, candidate for treasurer-tax collector, regarding finding uses for tax defaulted properties that would benefit the community.
As a member of Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake, a volunteer network created to rid of litter and blight, we struggle to clean up abandoned properties that often have large overdue tax bills and even code enforcement liens. They become eyesores in neighborhoods where other property owners are working hard to keep their properties in good order.
We hope that they will end up in one of the property sale auctions conducted by the county so a new owner will clean them up. However, it rarely happens. Even if they appear on the auction list, there is no bid made on them.
I reached out to Mr. Sullivan and asked him if we could learn more details about the plans he was considering if elected to treasurer-tax collector. He immediately responded and set up a Zoom link for our volunteers to access.
Mr. Sullivan was very interested in our work and understanding the issues we were dealing with. He immediately honed his discussion to address our concerns. He explained that many of the tax defaulted properties on the list are worth less than the overdue tax bill and other liens attached to them which is why no one buys them.
Additionally, many bare land parcels can never be built on. They remain on the tax rolls, continue to blight neighborhoods and result in additional cost to the county to offer them for sale when no sale is likely.
Mr. Sullivan says there are other options — offering them to government entities, nonprofits and more. Maybe some of these properties are contiguous and could be used for building affordable housing, or for open spaces or other beneficial uses. Some, such as the Northshore paper lots, should just be removed altogether from the tax rolls.
In anticipation of taking a smarter view on dealing with these properties, several of the county departments, under the leadership of Mr. Sullivan, have cooperated to allow the public to view all on a GIS map on the county website — finally, a full view of what is available and the details about each.
He is very interested in talking to people in the neighborhoods about possible uses as he understands they have a much better understanding of the needs of their communities.
How refreshing that an elected official will be willing to reach out to neighborhood residents for their input, search for other options to solve age old problems, and be responsive to feedback.
Yes, he is planning on speeding up tax payment processing times and offering additional payment options too.
I recommend we elect Patrick Sullivan. He has made impressive progress on many issues that needed solutions during the past few years with resultant increases in revenues to our county and I am sure he will be able to do even more when he becomes Lake County’s treasurer-tax collector.
Barbara Christwitz lives in Clearlake, California.
As a member of Citizens Caring 4 Clearlake, a volunteer network created to rid of litter and blight, we struggle to clean up abandoned properties that often have large overdue tax bills and even code enforcement liens. They become eyesores in neighborhoods where other property owners are working hard to keep their properties in good order.
We hope that they will end up in one of the property sale auctions conducted by the county so a new owner will clean them up. However, it rarely happens. Even if they appear on the auction list, there is no bid made on them.
I reached out to Mr. Sullivan and asked him if we could learn more details about the plans he was considering if elected to treasurer-tax collector. He immediately responded and set up a Zoom link for our volunteers to access.
Mr. Sullivan was very interested in our work and understanding the issues we were dealing with. He immediately honed his discussion to address our concerns. He explained that many of the tax defaulted properties on the list are worth less than the overdue tax bill and other liens attached to them which is why no one buys them.
Additionally, many bare land parcels can never be built on. They remain on the tax rolls, continue to blight neighborhoods and result in additional cost to the county to offer them for sale when no sale is likely.
Mr. Sullivan says there are other options — offering them to government entities, nonprofits and more. Maybe some of these properties are contiguous and could be used for building affordable housing, or for open spaces or other beneficial uses. Some, such as the Northshore paper lots, should just be removed altogether from the tax rolls.
In anticipation of taking a smarter view on dealing with these properties, several of the county departments, under the leadership of Mr. Sullivan, have cooperated to allow the public to view all on a GIS map on the county website — finally, a full view of what is available and the details about each.
He is very interested in talking to people in the neighborhoods about possible uses as he understands they have a much better understanding of the needs of their communities.
How refreshing that an elected official will be willing to reach out to neighborhood residents for their input, search for other options to solve age old problems, and be responsive to feedback.
Yes, he is planning on speeding up tax payment processing times and offering additional payment options too.
I recommend we elect Patrick Sullivan. He has made impressive progress on many issues that needed solutions during the past few years with resultant increases in revenues to our county and I am sure he will be able to do even more when he becomes Lake County’s treasurer-tax collector.
Barbara Christwitz lives in Clearlake, California.
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- Written by: Barbara Christwitz
My name is Thomas Hingston. I am a current employee of the Assessor-Recorder’s Office.
August Schmitt is correct in that the office is a critical county office (Schmitt: Lee will make positive changes, Sunday, May 15). School funding, public projects and fire budgets are directly affected by the work done in the office.
Consequently, if and when we have someone truly qualified for a job and willing and capable of completing it, it behooves us to try our best to let them do the job.
Richard Ford is doing a great job and has created an atmosphere in his office that has the full support of his staff.
He has no need of creating strawman scenarios or hearsay comments about his office’s performance. His ability as a leader is represented by the strong support of his staff.
Additionally, he has not felt the need to throw the office’s employees under the bus by implying through said hearsay comments an endemic rudeness and untimely work ethic.
It is applaudable when someone is willing to step up and involve themselves in the community but one should be qualified and able to fulfill the job.
Unfortunately, the challenger has not demonstrated the qualifications nor the maturity needed to take on this particular responsibility.
Thomas Hingston lives in Lower Lake, California.
August Schmitt is correct in that the office is a critical county office (Schmitt: Lee will make positive changes, Sunday, May 15). School funding, public projects and fire budgets are directly affected by the work done in the office.
Consequently, if and when we have someone truly qualified for a job and willing and capable of completing it, it behooves us to try our best to let them do the job.
Richard Ford is doing a great job and has created an atmosphere in his office that has the full support of his staff.
He has no need of creating strawman scenarios or hearsay comments about his office’s performance. His ability as a leader is represented by the strong support of his staff.
Additionally, he has not felt the need to throw the office’s employees under the bus by implying through said hearsay comments an endemic rudeness and untimely work ethic.
It is applaudable when someone is willing to step up and involve themselves in the community but one should be qualified and able to fulfill the job.
Unfortunately, the challenger has not demonstrated the qualifications nor the maturity needed to take on this particular responsibility.
Thomas Hingston lives in Lower Lake, California.
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- Written by: Thomas Hingston
Buying a home in Lake County is often the first step towards living here. Such people should be welcomed into our community. Forcing new homeowners to wait in a motel, the U Haul parked outside, over a weekend, for the title to be recorded is not welcoming new residents.
Our current assessor-recorder caused such incidents by closing the recorder's office on Fridays for “catch up,” when electronic recording is available to us, and still not operational.
Sending dramatic increases in tax bills to local property owners without advance warning or explanation is similarly thoughtless. Advancing assessments that are as much as three times above the recent purchase price, to increase income to his employer, is yet another unforced error.
But the most basic error is the failure to see Lake County residents, old or new, as those worthy to serve with due consideration and fairness.
Fortunately, there is an election. I, and many others in the real estate community, suggest eight years of this is enough, and candidate Hannah Lee is someone who can be trusted to turn things around, welcome new residents to Lake County, and treat all of us fairly.
Timothy Toye lives in Cobb, California.
Our current assessor-recorder caused such incidents by closing the recorder's office on Fridays for “catch up,” when electronic recording is available to us, and still not operational.
Sending dramatic increases in tax bills to local property owners without advance warning or explanation is similarly thoughtless. Advancing assessments that are as much as three times above the recent purchase price, to increase income to his employer, is yet another unforced error.
But the most basic error is the failure to see Lake County residents, old or new, as those worthy to serve with due consideration and fairness.
Fortunately, there is an election. I, and many others in the real estate community, suggest eight years of this is enough, and candidate Hannah Lee is someone who can be trusted to turn things around, welcome new residents to Lake County, and treat all of us fairly.
Timothy Toye lives in Cobb, California.
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- Written by: Timothy Toye