Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

JPs Agree To Add Employee

Nevada County's quorum court approved the hiring of a second deputy for Nevada County Tax Assessor Pam Box during its regular meeting of Monday, March 13.

Box approached the JPs at February's meeting concerning the resignation of appraiser Charles Backus.

Box requested that JPs hire another deputy at the second deputy's yearly salary of $13,124 to ease the workload in her office.

JPs did not take action on the request in February, but approved the measure 8-1 last Monday.

JP Gary Lewis told the group he called an office in Little Rock to confirm that a county-employed appraiser was not needed since the county is going to have to be reappraised now on a regular basis.

JP Adron Dobber' Hicks voted against the measure after telling the group that he was not convinced that the office needed the extra help.

Hicks also stated that when JPs approved the computer purchases for the offices in the courthouse, it was understood that staff would be cut in order to save the county money.

JP Curtis Lee Johnson also told the group he remembered being told that additional employees would not be needed.

Johnson did second the motion, which was made by JP Willie Wilson, to approve the hiring of the second deputy through the rest of the year. But, Johnson told the group, that job could be cut at the end of the year.

JP George Clary told the rest of the court that he felt the second deputy was needed at this time since the county is being reappraised and there is a lot of extra work going on in the assessor's office.

The court heard an update from CAMA concerning the reappraisal Nevada County is currently undergoing.

Jim Williams, project manager for CAMA, told JPs his company began its reappraisal work in the city of Prescott to gain community visibility.

Williams said that 1,400 parcels had been reappraised of about 2,400 parcels in the city limits.

CAMA employees are currently appraising homes, but will begin appraising commercial property soon. He said his company had not experienced any problems yet.

Nevada County residents will be notified by July 1, 2001, of their reappraisal figures, according to Williams.

JPs approved a request to set 35 miles per hour (MPH) speed limits on County Road (CR) 49 from Highway 53 East to the county line and on CR 7 from Highway 32 South to Highway 355 North.

Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell told JPs that he sat in his vehicle for an hour on CR 49 and saw no traffic.

He told the group that he then drove CR 7 from Highways 53 and 355 and met two vehicles. One was driving 35 MPH and the other was driving slower.

A petition by residents on those roads had been presented to Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown to change the speed limit.

Signs will be posted soon on those roads and officials will watch them to be sure they are not stolen. Anyone caught destroying or stealing the signs will be charged with destroying county property.

The measure passed 8-1, with Arval Mason voting against the measure.

Otwell reminded JPs that the speed limit will be 35 MPH whether the signs are in place or not.

JPs also approved appropriations and transfers to finish the 1999 budgets.

In other business, JPs watched a slide presentation by Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office manager Jon Chadwell.

Set to music, the presentation was made for prospective businesses and industries to view concerning current building, future plans and what the county offers to companies willing to locate in the area.

Chadwell also updated JPs on several projects currently underway.