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Incumbent assessor faces challenger
By Marcy Stamper
Incumbent Okanogan County Assessor Scott Furman is being challenged by Les V. Stokes in the Nov. 4 general election. The winner will serve a four-year term.
The assessor and coroner positions are the only offices being contested; all of the county’s other elected officials are running unopposed.
The primary responsibility of the county assessor is to determine the value of all taxable property in the county. This includes determining tax liabilities in various taxing districts and calculating tax levies.
The assessor works with a staff of appraisers to physically inspect all properties in the county and also applies statistical methods to keep assessments up to date. The assessor also administers a variety of programs that provide for reduced tax rates, such as for land in open space or agriculture.
The assessor maintains parcel maps and legal descriptions of tax parcels and records relating to property valuation, including records of ownership, subdivisions and sales.
The assessor also handles any appeals of the office’s property valuations.
Scott Furman
Incumbent Scott Furman was first elected as Okanogan County assessor in 1998. Furman joined the assessor’s staff in 1984 as an appraiser and served as the county’s commercial appraiser for eight years before his election to assessor. He has a degree in agricultural economics.
In addition to the required accreditation for all appraisers in the state, Furman has pursued additional education and received an appraisal license through the Washington Department of Licensing, which is the most advanced level of certification, he said.
Furman manages a 12-person office with four appraisers, a drafting department that handles mapping and legal property descriptions, and other staff who administer tax-exemption programs. He is still involved in on-site appraisals, particularly for more complex appraisals.
In his 16 years as assessor, Furman has overseen the conversion of the county’s property-tax records from a paper-based system to one that is entirely online. The office has also switched from doing appraisals in the field on paper to using handheld computers.
Okanogan was one of the first counties in eastern Washington to adopt new appraisal software and to put detailed maps and parcel layers online, making research easier for the public, real estate professionals and county staff, said Furman.
Furman said that under his leadership, Okanogan County was the first county in the state to change the method for calculating the value of property owned by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, increasing reimbursement to the county for nontaxable lands.
Furman oversaw the county’s transition from a revaluation cycle every four years to an annual cycle, completing it three years before the state deadline. With annual statistical updates, property valuations are more accurate because appraisers can adjust a particular geographic area in conjunction with market fluctuations, said Furman.
Furman said he also advises the county’s legislative representatives about matters related to property tax.
“Appraisal is not black and white — it’s more of an art,” said Furman, who said appraisers must use considerable judgment and take into account various approaches to valuation, including comparable sales, replacement cost and national standards for architecture and construction value.
Furman is currently concentrating on training staff on new mapping software and on continuing to ensure that valuations for properties damaged in the summer’s wildfire are appropriate.
“This is a very demanding job, and I’m up to the task,” said Furman.
Les V. Stokes
Les Stokes first became interested in running for county assessor a dozen years ago, after coming to believe that many county properties were overvalued, but other obligations kept him from filing for candidacy until this year.
One of Stokes’ primary concerns is that the assessor’s office should be valuing properties at an amount that would enable the owner to sell the property at that price within 90 to 120 days. If it cannot sell for that amount, it suggests that the property is overvalued, said Stokes.
Stokes said that assessments in the county have not been thorough enough, but instead appear to be based on a formula, and an outdated one at that. “They’re not taking a close-enough look at what the property would realistically sell for,” he said.
Stokes said appraisers also do not appear to be making the rounds to inspect properties in person.
Stokes is currently a truck driver for logging and road-construction projects; before that he was a general contractor for 20 years. As a contractor, he managed his business and supervised subcontractors.
With his construction background, Stokes said he can look at a house or photo of a structure and know what maintenance would be necessary to meet the building code or enable a prospective buyer to obtain bank financing.
Stokes served on the Twisp Town Council from 1994-97. He also served as a volunteer firefighter and an officer with Twisp Fire and Rescue.
Stokes first became involved with Twisp town issues in the 1980s, when the closing of the lumber mill brought significant economic impacts, he said. During his time on the town council, the council worked to keep the town solvent and built contingency funds by buying discounted surplus equipment, said Stokes.
Stokes is especially concerned about the impacts of the summer’s wildfires on the county’s economy. He said the tax rolls have not been updated to reflect the damage.
“If elected, it would be a slow transition — I’m not going to turn over the apple cart,” said Stokes. “I would place the emphasis on the fire area and learn the system” to devise an appropriate analysis for that area, he said.
County’s first elected coroner will be chosen
By Marcy Stamper
Okanogan County will choose its first elected coroner in the Nov. 4 general election, since state law requires an elected coroner once a county’s population passes 40,000. Until now, the county prosecutor’s office handled the duties of the coroner. Gary Reams and Dave Rodriguez are competing to fill the position for a four-year term.
The county coroner is responsible for investigating what are called “unattended deaths” — deaths that occur outside a medical facility, nursing home or hospice. Coroners are the first to examine a body and typically work with law enforcement. To determine the cause and manner of death, they take blood samples, collect other evidence, and document medical and other findings.
The coroner locates and notifies next of kin and disposes of the deceased person’s body, inventories and maintains records of evidence, and handles related paperwork and reports. If it is determined that an autopsy is required, the coroner works with a forensic pathologist.
Although coroners take blood samples and perform basic medical investigations, they are not required to have a background in medicine or law enforcement. All coroners must complete training in death investigation through the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners once they are elected.
The coroner’s position has been budgeted at 60 percent of full time but a coroner is on call 24 hours a day.
Gary Reams
Gary Reams retired this year from a 30-year medical career, working as a licensed professional nurse, army medic, and respiratory therapist in home-care settings and at both Mid-Valley and Brewster hospitals. Reams also did body removal and transport for a funeral home for a year and a half.
Reams believes his experience dealing with life-and-death situations for newborns through the elderly and his compassionate approach to helping families cope with grief make him well qualified to be coroner.
Reams has lived in Okanogan County for 62 years and spent most of his career here. As an army medic, he worked in a surgical hospital treating injured soldiers. Many of the requirements for safeguarding a scene for a death investigation are comparable to the creation of a sterile area in a hospital, he said.
As a respiratory therapist, Reams was in charge of a person’s breathing after a heart attack or other critical condition. He would monitor the use of a ventilator and perform other procedures to be sure that air was getting to the lungs.
Having been married for 39 years and raised two children will help him handle budgeting for a new county department, said Reams. “What I know, I know well. What I don’t know, I’m willing to ask,” he said.
The coroner is responsible for handling situations that may be disturbing to some people, but Reams said he is comfortable with this role. “I treat people with respect and compassion — it is a rewarding situation to treat people with care and dignity,” he said.
Dave Rodriguez
Dave Rodriguez has been a law enforcement officer for 25 years and an emergency medical technician for 13 years. He has worked for the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Department for 22 years, where he is currently chief criminal deputy. He previously served as emergency management coordinator, dispatch supervisor, patrol deputy and K-9 handler for the sheriff’s department.
Rodriguez said his background in law enforcement means he has performed many of the coroner’s duties. “You develop the ability to deal with some of the harsher things in life,” he said. “I am able to deal with that, and to do the job professionally.”
Rodriguez has already completed the required state training as a death investigator through the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. He has also consulted with other county coroners to understand the day-to-day responsibilities of the work, he said.
Because he already has the certification as a death investigator, Rodriguez believes he is particularly qualified to set up a new county department and handle cases immediately. His experience with budgeting, purchasing and other administrative and financial responsibilities for Okanogan County government will also be an asset, he said.
In addition to the official role of protecting the body and any evidence, the coroner helps people who don’t know what to do if someone dies at home, said Rodriguez. “You help them deal with the body appropriately and respectfully,” he said.
If elected, Rodriguez would leave the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Department. He said he would remain involved in other projects, including work with a coalition on teen suicide prevention.
