After nearly 40 years in the Park County Assessor’s Office, Pat Meyer has decided to retire in the middle of his current term.

Meyer, who joined the office in 1985 and became assessor in 2011, plans to depart at the end of December or early January.

Meyer told the Tribune he intended to complete his fourth term, which runs through 2026. However, a couple stressful years, burnout and the death of a sibling shortly after their own retirement caused Meyer to reassess.

“I can still do stuff right now: ski, fish, hunt, and I want to do it before [I can’t],” Meyer said. “I’m 68. It’s long enough.”

The assessor added that he wouldn’t be leaving if he wasn’t confident that the office was in good shape. Meyer said he’s spent years preparing his first deputy, Terry Call, to take on the role and described Call as the perfect person to take over.

However, the decision won’t be up to Meyer: Once the Republican assessor officially resigns from office, the Park County Republican Party’s Central Committee will nominate three potential replacements. Park County commissioners will then need to pick a new assessor from that trio of candidates to serve out the remainder of Meyer’s term.

Meyer said he plans to visit with local Republican leaders about Call’s qualifications.

“It’s not an easy job,” he said. “It’s really hard to walk in there not doing anything.”

Meyer initially worked underneath former Assessor Ron Christie, then spent 20 years as former Assessor Rip Brandt’s first deputy. He won the office in the 2010 election and was reelected three more times, all without ever facing an opponent.

“It’s really not a political job,” Meyer said, though, “I made it more political than any other assessor because I kept getting so involved in legislation.”

He’s been a frequent presence at the Wyoming Legislature. In fact, he publicly announced his retirement plans at a Nov. 18 meeting of the Joint Revenue Committee in Cheyenne, as he lobbied for a property tax relief measure.

“... A lot of people sit back and don’t offer anything, right?” Meyer said. “That’s not the way I am.”

Assessors establish the value of all property within their county — from homes to oil field equipment — and must do so in a fair, equitable and uniform way that’s in-line with state rules. It can be an unpopular position, because those assessed values help determine how much in taxes the property owner must pay.

Property taxes have also come under intense scrutiny in Park County since a Covid era real estate boom sent local home prices soaring; the average homeowner has seen their tax bill rocket roughly 58% since 2020.

The surge in values turned Meyer from an opponent of capping annual tax increases into a vocal supporter; the Legislature agreed to impose a 4% annual limit last year.

However, the assessor thinks more needs to be done. He told the Revenue Committee last week that places like Park County got hit so hard that the cap came too late.

Meyer recommended that lawmakers also give commissioners the ability to roll property values back to 2019 or 2020 levels and effectively wipe out the post-pandemic surge. His argument is that governmental entities were doing fine with the values and taxes they were collecting several years ago, though local governments are often quick to counter that they, too, have been dealing with inflation.

Seven of the revenue committee’s more conservative members — including Sen. Tim French (R-Powell) — endorsed the idea at the Nov. 18 meeting, but seven more moderate members — including outgoing Rep. David Northrup (R-Powell) — opposed it, which means the committee won’t sponsor the rollback bill. However, the idea could always be revived by an individual legislator in the 2025 General Session.

Amid the committee’s discussion last week, lawmakers on both sides of the issue also offered compliments to Meyer.

“I appreciate your can-do attitude to work for your property owners up there,” said Sen. Bob Ide (R-Casper), who supported the rollback. “We don’t get a lot of that — it’s usually the other way around.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Steve Harshman (R-Casper), who cited constitutional concerns in opposing the measure, made a point of thanking the retiring Meyer for “all your good years of service.”

“Well done,” Harshman said. “That’s a lifetime of work.”

Meyer has not yet picked a final day in office.