Seth Thatcher for Commissioner of the Revenue

Seth Thatcher for Commissioner of the Revenue for Frederick County

Now that I have announced my campaign for Commissioner of the Revenue for Frederick County, I wanted to write a bit about what I would do in the office to help people make up their minds about my candidacy. In the first several weeks since the announcement I have received some very good endorsements including current Commissioner Ellen Murphy, Supervisor Bob Wells, school board Vice Chairman Jay Foreman, Commonwealth's Attorney Ross Spicer, former Delegate Randy Minchew, Mayor Charles Harbaugh, and former school board Chairman Stuart Wolk. The support received to date is indeed humbling. All these folks believe in service to others as a primary reason for their community involvement. I have worked for Commissioner Murphy for 12 years. In 2016 I received a certification from the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center as a Master Deputy Commissioner of the Revenue. I have focused on real estate assessments but have learned about all aspects of the Commissioner's office including taking a class on the state code of Virginia taught by Ellen Murphy herself. As Commissioner of the Revenue I would seek to retain the great staff we have already performing the various jobs assigned to us by state code and local ordinance. Our staff is taxpayer friendly and will continue to be so. While state code governs much of what we do, there is a proper way to treat Frederick County taxpayers. Being friendly, kind, and helpful is all part of the Golden Rule which I have made a cornerstone in my life. I'll expect the same treatment toward the staff from taxpayers. I intend to push for greater efficiency both in how our office functions and the ease with which taxpayers are able to do business with our office. Under Ellen Murphy, great strides have been made and I will keep the focus on further improvements in systems and processes. Our office works closely with the Treasurer's office as it must and I will go above and beyond to create synergies between our two groups. A decent respect for the Constitution of Virginia allows for the separation of powers between the Board of Supervisors, Treasurer, and Commissioner of the Revenue but that should never keep any of these parties from a harmonious daily working relationship. I see no present need for staffing increases in the Commissioner's Office as I believe it is the duty of the tax-assessing arm of local government to be as lean as possible. As parcels of real estate and personal property increase in a growing county, the added load can be managed with better process efficiencies, not increased staff.