2013-09-11 Board of Ethics minutes

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MR. DRUTAR: Yes, sir. MR. HISASHIMA: Was this violation your first offense or multiple? MR. DRUTAR: I had never been written up, I had never had a single negative remark on a JPR. I could bring in everyone in my office to tell you that in the fourteen months, the least tenured person as an assessor in RPT, I’ve gone way above and beyond. No one—there is a stereotype about County employees that can be true at times. But I—I’m an active person. I have volunteered in three different appraisers’ areas, picked up over 447 properties in two appraisers’ areas that had been off the tax rolls for five years or more. I’m talking millions of dollars of assessed value not getting taxed. Hundreds of thousands of dollars away from the County every year because people weren’t able to effectively get out there and do their jobs or they didn’t like field work or whatever. And I’ve volunteered. No one else volunteers to do anyone else’s work anywhere. I did that in two different areas, and for another person who values our most highest valued properties. There had been homes that weren’t sketched in. I sketched them into the system, which created additional square footage that they didn’t even know about, and added about $25 million—that was a bit of an estimate, it could be about $20 million--in assessed value to the County taxes. Those had not been in the system in over seven years, when they were originally built, so _______. Those are high value areas for the County. I work hard. My employment—the County is getting their money’s worth out of me, and that’s a quote from my supervisor. I work hard, and every one of my co-workers would agree. I’d be happy to bring in testimony from them if it would help. But I think the facts of the case should speak for the facts of the case. I’ve never been any trouble, to answer the question. MR. HISASHIMA: Are you covered by any union bargaining unit? MR. DRUTAR: We are, but it doesn’t cover policy. MR. HISASHIMA: Who’s the union that backs you up? Who’s the union? MR. DRUTAR: HGEA, bargaining unit 13. My union representative is Maile Etherton. And we are working on that disciplinary thing. But they have a new policy which—the union can do nothing about policy. That’s an internal matter. They’re not allowed to—once the policy, them’s the rules. And the policy says people can’t do real estate. And I think that goes against the County Code. MR. BALSIS: Doug, do you have any comments or questions? MR. ADAMS: You just indicated—thank you. You just indicated that this is a new policy? MR. DRUTAR: Yes, sir. We were delivered—we were delivered it in late August, back-dated June. And it says you can’t do it.