Washington County Assessor Candidates Differ On Property Taxes

FAYETTEVILLE -- Both Washington County assessor candidates are Republicans, but they disagree sharply on whether residents should pay property taxes.

Joshua Crawford and Russell Hill will square off for the Republican nomination in the May 20 primary. No Democrat filed for the race, meaning whoever wins the primary likely will win the general election in November.

The biggest difference between them: Crawford wants to abolish property taxes and Hill wants to keep them.

The county collected about $150 million from property taxes last year, according to the Treasurer's Office. Most of it, 80 percent, went to schools, with the balance going to the cities and the county.

Assessors have no power to abolish taxes on their own. Crawford, 34, said he would use the position as a bully pulpit to push for change.

Crawford grew up north of Lincoln and works as a programmer for Ability in Fayetteville, which creates software for manufacturers. He also teaches pre-calculus at Fayetteville Christian School as a volunteer.

His dislike of property taxes is the main reason he's running, Crawford said.

"As long as we're paying property taxes, we don't own our property -- the state does," he said, conceding the assessor's job is to follow the letter of the law. "I want somebody in the office who doesn't like them."

Short of that goal, Crawford said he would work to streamline the assessment and payment process.

"The short-term goal is to get the Assessor's Office, the Collector's Office and the revenue office all in the same building, so people don't have to drive across town to get anything done," he said.

Hill said he was drawn to the race by Assessor Jeff Williams and other Washington County Republicans. Hill also ran for treasurer against Roger Haney two years ago.

"Initially I just want to keep things going the way Jeff's been doing it," Hill said, pointing to recent budget-trimming as an example. "I want to keep Washington County strong."

Hill, 41, said he's had a diverse career since high school. He spent about two years in the Navy before serving as a Christian minister for 14 years, working as an account manager for a Lowell-based trucking company and starting his own brokerage firm, The Hill Group, a year ago.

If elected, Hill said he'd also work to improve access to assessor services, perhaps by bringing mobile offices to rural areas like Brentwood.

"Leading people has never been a problem for me," Hill said. "I've always loved the challenge."

NW News on 04/26/2014