- Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower accuses Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell of being uncooperative in correcting errors in assessments for tax billing
- Mumpower also accuses someone from the assessor’s office of deleting online records
- Rutherford County Commission agrees to investigate Mumpower’s recommendation to contract with a third-party independent firm to examine over 130,000 property assessments and correct errors.
- County Commissioner asks attorney to instruct commission on possible removal of property assessor from elected office
Rutherford County Property Assessor Rob Mitchell could face an ouster suit following Tennessee Comptroller Jason Mumpower reporting Oct. 16 that all 130,156 properties need reexamination for accurrate tax bills.
Mumpower made his presentation to the Rutherford County Commission. Commissioner Mike Kusch asked County Attorney Nick Christiansen to research a possible ouster suit to remove Mitchell from elected office and report back to the commission by the Nov. 13 meeting.
“We heard an interesting, compelling and sad report from the state comptroller tonight,” Kusch said, “and I’m sure a lot of us were not very pleased.”
Kusch noted that he and the other commissioners should let their constituents know that “we have their back” by asking the county attorney to instruct the commission on what can be done to remove Mitchell from serving as one of the county’s constitutional officers.
“Common sense would tell us that based on the report and presentation tonight, that there will be nothing but a road block or a failure to work on any improvements at the current level at the assessor’s office,” Kusch said.
“So to me, a clean slate would be the best way to do that. So we can get in, get it cleaned up, get it corrected, spend the money and start fresh.”
The Daily News News Journal awaits a response from Mitchell about the request from Commissioner Kusch about a possible ouster suit to remove him from office.
Comptroller’s office reports 25% rate of incorrect assessments
Mumpower said his office will be billing the county for nearly $234,166 for the work of 22 members of his staff to review 8,683 properties out of 130,156 to determine a 25% error rate by Rutherford County Property Assessor’s Office led by elected official Mitchell.
The comptroller accused Mitchell of blocking efforts for two years to comply with the comptroller’s office to make corrections to inaccurate property assessments, including the square footage of homes.
Mumpower also noted more recently completed townhomes and other property improvements being incorrectly postponed to 2026 assessments instead of current tax rolls.
People not paying taxes for the improvement on properties puts the burden for taxes on other taxpayers, the comptroller suggested.
The comptroller said his office asked the assessor’s office Jan. 3 about changes to assessments and then discovered by Jan. 7 the digital records in question and other documents were “deleted” by someone.
Mumpower did not say if any investigations are taking place about the deleted records. His office does not typically confirm or deny possible investigations until releasing findings.
Mitchell speaks to the commission
Mitchell after Mumpower’s presentation declined to offer a comment to The Daily News Journal. He did speak to the commission during the public comment portion of the meeting prior to the comptroller’s presentation.
“I have not seen the information that’s going to be presented, so I have nothing to comment on,” Mitchell told the 21-member commission.
“After having had time to properly review everything and verify its validity, I’ll be happy to give a regular comment to any member of the county commission who wishes. Thank you very much.”
The comptroller did face questions from Commissioners Wayne Irvin and Hope Oliver about wanting more facts and data to back up Mumpower’s assertions.
Irvin suggested more detailed findings should have been available in advance of the Oct. 16 meeting. Oliver agreed with Irvin.
Commission agrees to investigate recommendations
The comptroller near the end of his nearly hour-long presentation recommended the county contract with an independent third-party firm to review all of the county’s property assessments and make any needed corrections.
Mumpower also advised the Rutherford government to use the state’s IMPACT technology like a vast majority of Tennessee’s 95 counties do to assess properties and improve transparency.
The comptroller suggested the county should be prepared to bill some property owners who have paid less than they should and refund many who have paid too much.
Commission Chairman Jeff Phillips responded by calling for a unanimous vote for County Finance Director Mike Smith and County Attorney Christiansen to investigate what third-party independent firm could review all the property parcels and make corrections, as well as switching to use the state’s IMPACT technology.
If a private third-party independent firm charged the same rate as the comptroller to examine 8,683 property assessments, the cost would be over $3 million.
This is a developing story.
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
