Terry Call

After a messy, month-long process, Park County has a new interim assessor. On Friday, a judge passed over a couple candidates nominated by the local Republican party and appointed First Deputy Assessor Terry Call to serve as the county’s assessor through 2026.

“I’m excited to get the job done and excited to proceed with the work we have to do,” said Call.

The Republican and longtime Cody area resident worked under Assessor Pat Meyer for the past 14 years. When Meyer retired at the end of December, he hoped to have Call replace him, but not everyone agreed.

The typical process for replacing a county official mid-term involves the departing official’s party picking three potential replacements the county commissioners then choose from. However, after learning of errors made in the Park County Republican Party’s nominating process, commissioners turned the decision over to a judge.

The task of picking an interim assessor eventually fell in the lap of Carbon County District Court Judge Dawnessa Snyder, who decided to effectively restart the process. Rather than limiting the field to the party’s nominees or to those who originally submitted applications to the party, Snyder allowed any qualifying Republicans to put their name in the running.

A total of seven local residents applied — including four of the original six contenders — and the Rawlins-based judge interviewed each of them on Wednesday. 

Several of Snyder’s questions centered around the applicants’ relevant experience and knowledge of the assessor’s office and its duties. With his long-running service in the office, Call offered the only direct experience.

However, two of the candidates nominated by the Republican party — Meeteetse financial adviser Bob Ferguson and Cody City Councilman Don Shreve — had separately encouraged the judge to look beyond backgrounds. 

Ferguson, who serves as the vice chair of the local GOP, said the political aspects of the elected position go beyond experience doing appraisal; he said that’s why it’s important for parties to have input.

Call had ranked poorly in the GOP voting process and Shreve told the judge that “the people of this county want a change.”

In her Friday decision, Snyder did not explain why she picked Call, writing only that she had “given due consideration to the presentations of the candidates.”

Beyond Call, Ferguson and Shreve, the other contenders were Cody accountant Brenda Aycoth; retired tax appraiser Dave Baker of Powell; Powell appraiser and real estate broker Andrew Whitlock; and Powell developer and real estate agent Tye Whitlock.

The county assessor is charged with the rather dry task of determining the taxable value of properties. However, the role has come under more scrutiny in recent years, as property values and the corresponding tax bills have soared in Park County.

Frustration over the rising tax burden spurred several of the candidates to apply for the position last month and most said they would work to lower taxes.

During his remarks to the Republican party and to the judge, Call noted that he and Meyer helped successfully lobby for a measure that capped annual property tax increases at 4% and pledged to work with local lawmakers to help them “deliver what the people want: something fair.”

Call also said it’s not a glamorous job, saying the role requires technical expertise and compliance with state requirements.

Speaking to the Tribune on Monday, Call said the uncertainty over who would be picked to replace Meyer had been a little distracting for the assessor’s office “and now we can really knuckle down and get after it.”

As for what he made of the appointment process, “I think we definitely need better rules to figure out exactly what should be done in these situations,” he said, adding that he’d leave it to others to figure out the best option.

Call added that he was surprised and disappointed by how the vote shook out at the GOP meeting.

“I considered it a bit of a wake up call,” he said, saying he wants to hear peoples’ concerns and what the assessor’s office can do better.

“We are all ears,” Call said.