County assessor seeks first term in office

Sweetwater County Assessor David Divis seeks election to his first full term this year.

Divis, a Democrat, was selected to replace Pat Drinkle when she retired earlier this year. After he was appointed to the position in February, Divis said he planned to run for the office.

Divis worked as the chief deputy Sweetwater County Assessor since 2012, when Drinkle was selected to replace David Rauzi.

Prior to that, Divis worked at the Sweetwater County Treasurer's Office since 1991, working his way from auto clerk, to tax deputy and finally to office manager.

He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

"I am a permanently certified tax appraiser by the Wyoming Department of Revenue, and have received 379 hours of continuing education in the assessment field," Divis said in a campaign announcement.

Divis said a county assessor must comply with statutory requirements for assessed values, as well as be experienced with the requirements enforced by the Wyoming Department of Revenue and the Wyoming State Board of Equalization, which audit the valuation numbers proved by the assessor on a yearly basis.

"Along with verifying the statistical requirements, the Wyoming Department of Revenue will audit assessment practices within the county each year to make sure each assessor is compliant with International Association of Assessing Officers standards and Department of Revenue rules," Divis said. "I recently celebrated my fifth year of membership with the IAAO."

Divis said the assessor must be a permanently-certified appraiser and should be able to interpret and apply constantly changing statutes and rules to properties within the county.

He said an assessor must be able to defend their values and assessment practices to not only the department of revenue and board of equalization, but to the county's taxpayers as well.

"My work history in local government gives me a very unique perspective in the assessment/taxation field. I have seen the process from start to finish," Divis said. "Not only can I discuss value and assessment with taxpayers, I can also explain the taxation and distribution of tax dollars, because I have been working in both for 27 years."

According to Divis, the key portion of the assessor's oath he took is to assess all taxable property within the county at its fair value.

"I intend to continue to administer the office in that manner," he said.

Divis said he is the most qualified candidate for the office.

"Since 2012, I have built relationships with the staff of the State Board of Equalization, the Wyoming Department of Revenue, the other assessors throughout the state, our local legislators, the industry representatives we work with, our industrial appraisers and the taxpayers of this county," Divis said.