Bessemer Township hires assessor

By CHARITY SMITH csmith@yourdailyglobe.com
RAMSAY — The Bessemer Township board voted unanimously Monday to hire Melissa Prisbe to replace Roman Tauer as the township’s assessor. Tauer is retiring at the end of the fiscal year. Township supervisor Jeff Randall said they had two applications and of the two the main difference was that Prisbe offered to print the tax bills, where as the other candidate did not. However, because of the additional services, Prisbe came at a higher price tag. “One of the things that would do is actually help reduce the potential of some of the mistakes that could happen. If the assessor did that printing where they would be responsible for making sure that all the millages are included in the bill,” Randall said. Hope Tarnaski, township treasurer, said Prisbe was highly recommended by Wakefield, which uses her services and that she thought she was worth the extra dollars for the extra service. “Some of the things that she says that she’ll take care of are huge,” Tarnaski said. Randall agreed saying “they’re no small items.” He pointed out that Prisbe also lives in the area and would be available to residents and property owners if they need to meet with her. In addition to appraising property and updating building permits, Prisbe will prepare print, stuff and mail the tax bills. The service was not offered by Tauer. The city pays someone else for the service. Prisbe will start on April 1 and the city will will pay her $30,546 per year, for three years. Tarnaski said that she is hoping that by having someone who is familiar with the process, will help to alleviate a problem the township is having with incorrect addresses.

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