Sequoyah County Assessor Brandy Dobbs now knows the accusations the board of county commissioners are leveling against her in their attempt to have Dobbs removed from the office she’s held since June 2021.

The commissioners last Monday emerged from a 33-minute executive session seeking the suspension of Dobbs from the assessor’s office, and claiming 20 instances of “willful maladmin-istration in violation of her statutory duties” by:

• Allowing the assessor’s office to be designated as Level One non-compliant by the State Board of Equalization (SBOE), such designation resulting from Dobbs’ failure to satisfy the requirements of the equalization study conducted by the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC), and that Sequoyah County is the only Oklahoma county classified as Level One non-compliant;

• Causing the assessor’s office to be designated as Level Two non-compliant in the 2023 equalization study by the SBOE, despite numerous attempts by the OTC to provide necessary guidance, and that the county is the only Oklahoma county classified as Level Two non-compliant. Consequently, this situation affected the chargeable valuations used to determine state aid for school districts, leading to a shortfall of $400,000 in school budgets this year;

• Causing the assessor’s office to be designated as Level One non-compliant due to Dobbs’ failure to satisfy the requirements of the performance audit conducted by the OTC, compounded by a lack of competency in valuing unsold properties, placing the office on a trajectory for Level Two non-compliance by December 2025, and that the county is the only Oklahoma county non-compliant in both the equalization study and the performance audit;

• Failing to adjust the fair cash values of at least 80% of arm’s-length residential trans- actions for tax year 2022, an oversight that resulted in a financial loss to the county and its school districts of more than $350,000, a loss that will continue to compound annually for years to come, and that because these errors were not corrected in a timely manner, they can no longer be rectified due to the Frankenberg Law, and recovery is possible only if the properties sell again;

• Failing to adjust the fair cash values of at least 90% of arms’s-length residential transactions for tax year 2023, an oversight that resulted in a financial loss to the county and its school districts of more than $400,000, a loss that will continue to compound annually for years to come, and that because these errors were not corrected in a timely manner, they can no longer be rectified due to the Frankenberg Law, and recovery is possible only if the properties sell again;

• Failing to uncap the fair cash values of unsold properties in the county and adjust them with the market by 3% or 5% annually, resulting in valuations of 70% to 75% of fair cash value from 2022 to 2024, 82% in 2021 and 83% in 2020, causing a total loss of about $250 million in taxable value, including an additional $82 million from 2021 to 2024 due to neglected adjustments, which compound year after year;

• Submitting conflicting timesheet records to the county clerk’s office for payroll and time accrual purposes;

• Committing a series of compounded and excessive errors in the preparation of the tax roll, necessitating corrections that were not adequately performed, thereby imposing an undue burden and expense upon the county treasurer’s office and the county clerk’s office;

•Implementing changes to the tax rolls that failed to accurately reflect the names of record titleholders as indicated on recorded deeds or other duly authorized documentation;

• Failing to maintain current and accurate records, including the timely and correct transfer of newly filed deeds with accurate details such as name, acreage and fair cash value as set forth in the deeds;

• Failing to accurately update title ownership records upon the filing of joint tenancy termination affidavits, transfer-ondeath affidavits, probate decrees or other similar legal instruments evidencing a transfer of ownership; • Failing to maintain regular office hours and sufficient staff to adequately serve the public;

• Arbitrarily and erroneously removing taxpayers and property structures from the tax rolls, resulting in substantial loss of revenue to the county;

• Failing to promptly add new structures to the tax rolls despite receiving notifications from taxpayers regarding new construction, repeatedly overlooking these updates, which resulted in significant loss of revenue to the county;

• Failing to update taxpayer addresses despite specific notifications from the county treasurer, county clerk or taxpayers, resulting in the failure of tax statements for the subsequent year to be delivered to the correct addresses and causing numerous statements to be returned as undeliverable;

• Causing numerous erroneous tax statements to be sent, which resulted in the accrual of penalties, the filing of liens and the revocation of homestead exemptions;

• Repeatedly refusing to provide the treasurer’s office with personal property records despite their requests, acknowledging that while these records are not public, they are essential for the treasurer to effectively fulfill their responsibilities; • Inconsistently applying annual valuation increases, leaving 2,876 parcels unchanged and increasing 1,266 parcels by 3% or less from 2021 to 2024, resulting in a “huge loss” in taxable value; and

• Misrepresenting the extent of the 2024 deed processing backlog to the OTC, claiming to be nearly current when data entry lagged significantly, only reaching 980 deeds after “extreme pressure” from the OTC.

As a result of the accusations, the commissioners are claiming a loss of $1.15 million for the county and school districts, and a loss of about $332 million in taxable value.

The charges were filed in the county clerk’s office following the meeting. Dobbs will have at least five days to answer the accusations, according to her attorney, Steve Hickman from the Tulsa law firm of Frasier, Frasier and Hickman. It is expected that the case will be decided in a jury trial.

On Feb. 12, the commissioners voted unanimously to launch an inquiry for an accusation of removal of Dobbs as assessor, shifting Dobbs’ fate from the commissioners to the district attorney’s office. After that meeting, District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers said audits that had been conducted and input received from the OTC were important in the commissioners’ decision to elevate the proceedings.

Because he represents all the county elected officials, Sequoyah County District Attorney Jack Thorp has recused himself from the case. LeFlore County District Attorney Kevin Merritt has been assigned to represent the prosecution.

A first hearing in the case is scheduled for 10 a.m. March 6.