The Greene County collector is resigning from office.
Collector Leah Betts was first elected to the job in 2014.
Her last day will be February 28.
Her replacement will be appointed by the governor.
We’ve obtained a copy of a letter Betts sent about her resignation…
“Dear Commissioner Dixon, Commissioner Russell, and Former Commissioner Bengsch,
With great sadness this letter is to inform you that I am resigning from the position of Collector of Revenue effective end of business February 28, 2021. I chose this date because it is the last day of the Collector’s fiscal year and it will make the ideal transition for the appointed Collector.
Over the last 6 years, and many years before that in an unelected capacity, I have given my all to Greene County and have led a very successful office with a dedicated team. Unfortunately, the events of the past two years, and especially the last few months have made it impossible for me to do my job efficiently and effectively. I reached out to you multiple times verbally and in writing and received no tangible help. The I.S. Department of which you are the elected body directly responsible for, has been unprofessional, disrespectful, and unwilling to do what was needed to get the job done in a timely manner. Moreover they refuse to take any responsibility for their inability to manage the project at hand. Both you and the I.S. Department have, and still are, in denial regarding their role in the failure of the task to successfully connect the Assessor’s new program to the County Clerk and Collector’s shared program. The only available avenue to address this unacceptable behavior was the Commission, and you refused to heed my warnings and pleas for purposeful assistance time and time again, even though it became very apparent that my concerns were legitimate. The chaos of this tax season was indeed preventable if you would have taken action. There are additional county politics that have also hindered the flow of processes for the good of the people that I will not go into in this letter. It is truly disgraceful to the Greene County family and the county as a whole.
I have served the citizens of Greene County in a responsible and respectful way by providing courteous, efficient, and non governemnty service (as my office motto proclaims). The response of the citizens has been amazing, and it is for them and my wonderful staff that this resignation is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Yet this a battlethat clearly cannot be won which prohibits me from being able to provide the citizens of Greene County with the efficient service they deserve.
Sincerely,
Leah Betts
Collector of Revenue”
Here’s more from Greene County:
After 18 years of dedicated service to the citizens of Greene County, Leah Betts is resigning her elected position as Greene County Collector effective February 28.
Betts started with the County when a temp agency placed her in a position at the Collector’s Office while she was visiting home during a long-term mission trip. It was there she learned the various responsibilities of the department. She eventually went full time and gained several promotions. In 2014 she was elected Greene County Collector, a position that oversees more than a quarter billion dollars in tax collections each year for distribution to more than 40 local taxing districts such as schools, municipalities and the library.
“It is with great sadness that I am resigning as I have thoroughly enjoyed making a difference in our community during my days at the County,” Betts said. “During my time in office, I have succeeded at giving a government office a personal touch, as well as enhanced many efficiencies and procedures. My office has won a couple of notable customer service awards in the last few years and it also received a flawless audit from the recent state audit. It is important that citizens know that I strategically chose the timing of my last day to get through and tackle the most challenging tasks presented during this tax season. One of my goals will be to make the best transition possible to the newly appointed Collector for the good of the citizens of the County.”
“We wish Leah all the best in her future endeavors and thank her for her dedication to the citizens of Greene County,” said Presiding Commissioner Bob Dixon. “She is to be commended for her tireless efforts to provide top quality customer service to those who interact with the Greene County Collector’s Office and we further thank her for working to complete this year’s cycle of tax statements.”
The vacancy at the Greene County Collector’s Office will be filled by a gubernatorial appointment.
While this year’s tax cycle has been a challenging one for the County, Betts and the Commission assure citizens that the process continues to be a collaborative effort. Several offices, including the Commission, Assessor, Clerk, Collector and Information Systems department, remain committed to working together to address the issues with data and the transfer of that data between systems. This has resulted in the ability to mail the majority of the tax statements before the end of the year and has allowed for significant progress on processing the remaining statements. This same collaborative approach is helping to identify options to streamline assessment, billing and collections in the future.
