Taxpayers Assessed for Political Rant

Sumner County Property Assessor John Isbell, who came under fire last year for irregularities in the assessment process, is now using his taxpayer-funded website to advance his personal political agenda.

Isbell, who is up for re-election in 2016, has been fighting for his political life via social media under the auspices of the "Sumner Sentinel."

Now, he's taken his politics to his Assessor's Office website, which is paid for and maintained with public funds.

At the website sumnerassessor.org, Isbell explains the 2014 reappraisal process and notes:

 So why is a small group of pro tax increase bureaucrats led by Anthony Holt so driven to return to state-controlled property valuation in Sumner County? The answer is politics. Their intent is to manipulate the process to increase the assessment base thus increasing taxes on the citizens who are just now starting to recover from what many called the Great Recession of 2009.

A direct political attack on one of Isbell's detractors -- paid for by Sumner County taxpayers.

The disclaimer at the bottom of the page indicates the page is the property of Sumner County Government. That means it belongs to all taxpayers, not just Mr. Isbell.

Isbell continues his rant by referring to County Executive Anthony Holt simply as Anthony and unleashing a litany of attacks:

Anthony, in a recent meeting with the ladies of the Sumner County Republican Party, accepted full responsibility for the recent tax increase. "…I want you to know today, you can hold me responsible — hold me personally responsible. I do not want to shirk my responsibility." If Anthony accepts full responsibility for the tax increase why does he want to continue to try to blame the reappraisal process which has been validated as accurate and legal on three different occasions? Anthony will tell you that, in Sumner County, revenue-neutral means a tax increase. Unfortunately Anthony misunderstands the very basics of the reappraisal process and through his attempts to speak as an authority on the process only misinforms the public. Unfortunately Sumner County taxpayers have endured five months of uncertainty as Anthony held secret meetings, conspired with state bureaucrats, and wasted taxpayer dollars exceeding $100,000 to politically manipulate the process which resulted in his actions being grounded in general ignorance of the process. While the tax vote may be legal, it was certainly not conducted with any standards of transparency and ethical standing. Anthony stands as the self-appointed leader of this standard of transparency and ethical behavior for the new commission.

So, it's safe to say there's some bad blood between Isbell and Holt. But attacks like this belong on a political website paid for by a politicians supporters -- not on a publicly-funded, taxpayer supported site.

Isbell goes to great lengths on the public site to justify the recent assessment and his actions. He may have some valid arguments to make. The question is: Should John Isbell's political arguments be advanced by Sumner County taxpayers or John Isbell's supporters?

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