Assessor says ~$250,000 in unassessed permit revenue could be recovered; board weighs staff hires vs contractor

Carrie Ann, speaking for the assessor's office at the La Paz County work session on May 4, told supervisors her office could recover roughly $250,000 a year in permit revenue if it clears a backlog of missed permits.

"Best guess would be about a quarter million dollars is sitting on the table every year not making it onto the role, and that is just the permits," Carrie Ann said, arguing additional staffing or targeted contract work could increase county revenue.

Board members discussed options: the administrator's baseline recommendation included two additional positions for the assessor with estimated salary and ERE of about $233,000 for two positions; adding the full four positions the assessor requested would cost approximately $465,000. Several supervisors proposed hiring a temporary "fix‑it" contractor to handle a discrete backlog of files as a one‑time expense so the benefit does not carry forward as ongoing salary obligations.

Karen Ziegler and county staff cautioned that hiring contractors often requires staff resources for fieldwork and data entry and may not fully eliminate long‑term needs. Carrie Ann said outsourcing can divert staff time for training and oversight, and that a multi‑year timeline (three to four years) might be required to clear the backlog even with added capacity.

The board signaled support for investing in the assessor's office but did not record a formal vote in this session; staff were directed to incorporate the assessor staffing discussion into the tentative FY2027 budget and to return with specifics on costs and potential revenues.