Waiting, Tom Petty told us, is the hardest part.

Therefore, the past seven months, along with the next six to eight months, are undoubtedly the hardest for Sequoyah County Assessor Brandy Dobbs as she awaits resolution of the accusation for removal filed against her by the board of county commissioners as the case inches its way through the district court system.

The jury trial to determine Dobbs’ professional fate was originally set to begin May 5 in Muskogee County District Court, but was continued until “sometime in September.” But an order filed August 15 in Sequoyah County District Court postponed the September trial to the spring 2026 docket in Adair County District Court, with “dates to be announced as they are set.”

So the waiting continues. “How much of human life is lost in waiting?” is the rhetorical question posed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th-century poet and philosopher, knowing the query does not provide a specific quantifiable percentage of time. But in this case, it’s been more than 13 months since the county commissioners first met in executive session to address discrepancies Dobbs brought to their attention a month earlier.

And now the legal system clock is ticking toward the spring docket.

As she waits, Dobbs, who now goes by Brandy Allen, continues to head the agency that determines the fair market value of all property within the county for taxa- tion purposes, maintaining property records, and ensuring assessments are uniform and equitable. She has served in the county assessor’s office for nine years, the first five as a deputy to Kelly Miller, before being promoted to the top position on June 7, 2021, when Miller resigned to take a job with the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC).

Background

Discrepancies within the data in the county assessor’s office were discovered by Dobbs beginning in 2023, and she said her office began “diligently working” with the OTC and the Centers for Local Government Technology (CLGT) at Oklahoma State University “to address and correct those discrepancies.”

Dobbs said her office met with the OTC and CLGT on July 12, 2024, to outline a plan and steps necessary to rectify the discrepancies. In the month that followed, Dobbs said her office had already completed most of the items in the plan, which she received from the OTC.

“We are confident we will be successful in meeting all deadlines outlined in the plan,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs also informed the commissioners about what she found and steps being taken to resolve any concerns.

Three days later, the OTC provided Dobbs with an 11-page memorandum which stipulated that the OTC’s Ad Valorem Division would “provide general assistance and direction” to the assessor’s office, and will conduct “regular reviews of work progress,” as well as “make determinations about performance of the various work tasks required.”

The memorandum further stipulated that “existing data in the Sequoyah County CAMA (computer assisted mass appraisal) database appears to be reasonably accurate and may be utilized to generate values for 2025,” and that the county had “re-qualified its 2024 sales to better match OTC rules.”

It further said that if the outlined approaches are performed by the assessor’s office, along with the Ad Valorem Division monitoring and reviewing the county’s efforts throughout the implementation process, then the SBOE would, at its June 2025 meeting, be in a position to move the county into compliance.

At the outset of the assessor’s office implementing the OTC plan, the Ad Valorem Division rendered an opinion “that the Sequoyah County Assessor’s Office and staff, with continuing training and assistance, will be capable of implementing the proposed steps necessary to achieve compliance.”

Dobbs said her office was deemed compliant for the SBOE equalization study at the June meeting, and that a decision on the performance side will be rendered in December.

Scrutiny begins

But a month later, the county commissioners met in executive session for more than 1½ hours before emerging to pledge their confidence in Dobbs.

Following the session, District 3 Commissioner Jim Rogers said representatives from the OTC with whom the commissioners had spoken “feel like there’s a lot of improvement going on [in the county assessor’s office].”

Rogers then spoke to Dobbs on behalf of the board, saying the commissioners “want that office to be successful. We want you to have what you need to be successful. The last thing we want to do is take anybody’s job.”

He then continued: “The auditors have stated that things are looking good, that we’re getting to a point that things are improving.”

District 1 Commissioner Ray Watts then added: “We had all the confidence in the world of her (Dobbs) — still do. All three of us appointed her. There’s a lot of confidence in Brandy.”

Following the meeting, Dobbs reiterated that her office was “aware there were discrepancies within the data,” and had been diligently working with the OTC and CLGT since 2023 “to address and correct those discrepancies.”

But the commissioners’ confidence came with reservations. The commissioners met in executive session four more times — in October 2024, December 2024 and three times in February, collectively for almost 7½ hours — resulting in an accusation for removal being filed in Sequoyah County District Court claiming that prior to Feb. 24, 2024, Dobbs “engaged in willful maladministration in violation of her statutory duties,” citing at least 20 instances.

In addition to requesting a trial by jury, as mandated in the Oklahoma Statutes, the commissioners requested Dobbs be suspended from her position.

“We made a tough decision today, not one that we were excited about having to make,” Rogers said on February 12. “We’ll go to trial over this now, and a jury will determine the outcome. We’re just going to move forward with this. There’s a process we have to go through to get to that point, and we’ll follow the law to a T.”

Rogers said audits that had been conducted and input received from the OTC were paramount in the commissioners’ decision to elevate the proceedings.

In a prepared statement released on February 13, the OTC said it “remains concerned about whether the Sequoyah County Assessor will take the necessary steps to address the assessment deficiencies that resulted in a Category II noncompliance finding by the State Board of Equalization (SBOE). Additionally, there are ongoing concerns about the consistent application of proper valuation methodologies for Sequoyah County in future years.”

Emily Haxton, external communications and press coordinator for the OTC, said the SBOE seemed inclined to escalate penalties against the assessor’s office.

“During the Dec. 1, 2024, SBOE meeting, some board members stated that if Sequoyah County’s assessment deficiencies are not corrected by the June 2025 meeting, they are prepared to move the county to Category III noncompliance,” Haxton’s statement said.

The SBOE equalization study at the June meeting deemed the county assessor’s office compliant. A decision on the performance side will be rendered in December.

On Sept. 12, Haxton said the OTC did not have any updates to share.

Legal journey begins When the accusation for removal was filed on February 24, Sequoyah County District Attorney Jack Thorp recused himself from the case because he represents all the county elected officials. Kevin Merritt, District Attorney for LeFlore County, was appointed as plaintiff ’s attorney.

At a March 6 hearing in the case, defense attorney Steve Hickman claimed there were several insufficiencies contained in the accusation for removal that the commissioners must address. District Judge Jeffrey Payton agreed.

Then on March 17, following a 43-minute executive session to amend the accusations, an amended accusation for removal was filed in district court alleging the following:

• On Dec. 1, 2023, Dobbs also “engaged in willful maladministration in violation of her statutory duties”

• On June 17, 2024, her willful maladministration led to a $400,000 shortfall in school budgets for 2024 as well as 2025 With the commissioners’ latest claims, the number of violations were reduced to 19.

Then on April 10, Payton granted a change of venue motion, setting a jury trial date for May 5 in Muskogee County District Court. During the hearing, Merritt reminded the judge of the “issue of suspension that the commissioners had requested in their initial accusations.” Hickman countered that evidence is needed before any suspension should be considered, and added that he still doesn’t understand why Dobbs should be suspended.

Hickman pointed out that Dobbs had done everything that she was told to do by the OTC, and that auditors were scheduled to visit the assessor’s office in less than two weeks.

“I think to suspend her, you’re going to have to take some evidence and so forth. So I’m not sure that it’s going to get anywhere. Even if she is suspended, it’s not going to change anything,” Hickman said.

Merritt agreed that the start of a jury trial on May 5 quick turnaround negated the need for suspension.

But that trial ended up being postponed to “sometime in September.”

Then on Aug. 11, the commissioners convened in executive session for almost an hour, bring the total time spent behind closed doors to 10 hours, 41 minutes.

Then on Aug. 15, a date on which depositions were scheduled, Payton signed off on postponement of the September trial until the spring docket, and changed the venue to Adair County.

The election for county assessor is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2026.