SMITH TO SUCCEED SATTERFIELD ON BOARD OF EQUALIZATION

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A former longtime Albany County Assessor and active member of international and nationwide assessor organizations has been named to the Wyoming Board of Equalization, Gov. Dave Freudenthal announced today.  

Deborah Smith of Laramie will succeed Chairman Thomas Satterfield whose retirement from the board will be effective July 1, 2009. Once Smith joins the board, a new chairman will be elected.

“Debbie brings a rich background of experience and a county perspective to this important work,” the Governor said. “In her long tenure as assessor in Albany County, she served with distinction and was a leader among her peers. I know she will bring her practical, no nonsense approach to this position.”

The Governor thanked Satterfield for his dedication and commitment to the state. Satterfield was appointed to the board in 2003 after serving as a Fremont County Commissioner for 16 years.

Smith said she looks forward to working with the “highly qualified, extremely efficient and well-respected Board of Equalization and staff.”

Smith served as Albany County Assessor for more than 20 years, serving six consecutive terms beginning in 1983. During that time, she was an active member of the International Association of Assessing Officers and twice served as Wyoming’s state representative to that organization.

From 1999 to 2001, Smith served as president and vice chair of the Wyoming Association of County Officers and was a member of the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Board from 2005 to 2008. 

The State Board of Equalization is a full-time board of three Wyoming citizens appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The Board’s duties are to equalize valuation on all property in Wyoming’s counties, and to perform other duties prescribed by law.

The majority of the Board’s time is devoted to hearing disputes between taxpayers and the Department of Revenue, and reviewing appeals from decisions of county boards of equalization that adjudicate a dispute between a taxpayer and a county assessor.

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