Candidate for Wasatch County assessor aims to add transparency to assessment process

Bob Adams. Photo: Courtesy of Bob Adams

'There's a problem, and I believe I have the ability to do something about it,' Bob Adams said

WASATCH COUNTY, Utah — Republican Bob Adams, A 15-year resident of Wasatch County, has announced his candidacy for Wasatch County assessor with the goal of making the office more user-friendly and transparent.

A resident of Midway, Adams said he was inspired to run for the role of assessor by his own negative experience with the Wasatch County Assessor’s Office.

According to Adams, several years ago he questioned a tax increase that he received. During a hearing, Adams presented documents that he claims substantiated the over-assessment, but he was allegedly told that this documentation was unacceptable.

When he asked to see what the county used as a basis for assessments, Adams said that he was told that this information was “proprietary,” and would not be provided to him. According to Adams, he never received a response from the County, or a final determination on his protest.

“It was my own experience with the assessor’s office along with that of my friends and neighbors in Midway, and I started hearing from other people all around the county,” Adams said. “There’s a problem, and I believe I have the ability to do something about it.”

Adams’ goals as assessor would be to make the assessor’s office friendlier to the public, provide more information to residents on how assessments are derived, and to get the office to comply with Utah state law. He is the only candidate running against incumbent Todd Griffin, also a Republican.

“I’m serious about getting in there and making the changes that I think should be made, and could be made,” Adams said. “I believe that I should get my name out so that people know that they have an option when they consider voting for assessor.”

Adams wants to improve customer service within the Wasatch County Assessor’s Office, and encourage staff to advocate for local residents.

“The assessor’s office is not user friendly, And that needs to change,” Adams said. “If people go in and have a question, the person shouldn’t say, ‘Well, I don’t know,’ or ‘you probably need to go to HR to get that answered,’ or ‘go over to the county clerk,’ they should be able to just pick up the phone and make that call to HR, or the county clerk or wherever.”

If elected, Adams said he hopes to also provide more information to the public on how to appeal their property assessments.

“Most of the work in there from the public side is when people want to appeal, and I think there were over 2,000 appeals last year,” Adams said. “There should be a sheet, or at least an explanation. How do you appeal? what kind of information is acceptable? What kind is not?”

Adams has 40 years of management experience in local government, and has served as city manager for several cities in California, including Tracy, Lincoln, Lafayette and Dinuba. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminology from the University of California, Berkeley, and Master of Public Administration from Brigham Young University.