The Natrona County Assessor will retire, and the Natrona County Republican Party has begun the process to fill the vacancy, according to a news release from party chairman Joe McGinley.

Assessor Connie Smith submitted a letter of retirement, effective March 31, according to a news release from the Natrona County Clerk on Friday. Natrona County Commission Chairman John Lawson notified McGinley of the retirement on March 2.

Smith was appointed to the position after the resignation of former Assessor Susan DeWitt in 2013. She won re-election in 2014, and would have been up for re-election this fall.
The assessor's primary responsibility consists of discovering, listing, and valuing all real and taxable personal property including commercial real property, personal property and residential property, according to the department's website. The taxes paid on that valuation affects the revenues, budgets for the state and local governments, schools and special districts.

Friday,  McGinley said those interested in the assessor job must be a registered voter and a registered Republican, and send applications to ncrpchairman@hotmail.com by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Those applying must be a qualified elector and a registered Republican.

The county party's central committee will conduct initial interviews with qualified applicants in the Theatre Room at the Ramkota Hotel at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The meeting is open to the public, but only members of the central committee may vote.

A basket will be available at the entrance of the Theatre Room to collect written questions from central committee members and members of the public for applicants.

Questions will be drawn at random and at the discretion of the selection committee.  No character attack questions will be permitted.

The central committee will choose three persons among the applicants, and send those names to the Natrona County Commissioners.

The commissioners then have five days to interview the three finalists and appoint one to finish the election term of the Natrona County Assessor.

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