Susan Ramsey seeking second term as Sullivan County trustee

BLOUNTVILLE — Two women are seeking the GOP nomination for Sullivan County Trustee in the Republican arty Primary on May 3.Susan Ramsey, elected in 2018, is seeking a second four-year term as trustee, a job that pays $105,000 per year. That salary is set to increase on July 1.Angela Taylor, another longtime county employee, is seeking to replace Ramsey as trustee. In 2018, Ramsey won a five-way race for the GOP nomination. And Taylor placed second.The race for trustee will be decided by voters in the Republican Party Primary on May 3 as there are no Democratic or Independent candidates seeking the office in the County General Election in August.The Times News asked each candidate for trustee to respond to the following questions.Here are Ramsey's responses.Q: Many residents think only of property tax payments when thinking of the trustee and trustee's office. Please describe the duties of the county trustee.A: The duties of the Trustee are set by state statute – to summarize this statute in my own words would be, in addition to the collection of property tax, the Trustee serves as the county's "'banker." We receipt, account for, invest and manage the millions of dollars of revenue that flow in and out of Sullivan County. In addition to this, I believe, that as an elected official you have a responsibility to provide professional, detailed service to the citizens while being fiscally responsible.Q: What personal experience do you have that makes you the best choice to perform the job?A: I have 36 years of dedicated employment with Sullivan County; 34 of those years are deeply rooted within their financial operations; 23 years in Accounts & Budgets, where I worked and earned my way through many different tasks and responsibilities. The next seven years I served as the Financial Officer for the Sheriff and Corrections where I prepared and managed their multi-million dollar budgets; prepared, applied for and managed multiple state and federal grants along with other daily responsibilities of the finance office. The last four years I have served as the Sullivan County Trustee. My 34 years of governmental financial experience and my knowledge of the detailed operations of the Trustee's office are my distinct qualifications for the office. My dedication to service, my vast improvements to the technology, efficiency and accountability to the office over the last four years are additional qualifications that prove me an excellent candidate.Q: What goals do you hope to accomplish if elected trustee for the next four years?A: I want to continue to provide the citizens of Sullivan County with a professional, accountable, efficient, customer- friendly Trustee's office; to continue to make any necessary improvements and advancements that will make paying property taxes as easy as possible, and to continue to work with the State of Tennessee on any improvements that could possibly be made to the Tax Relief Program.In addition, I want to take the opportunity to work with the County Commission to see if it would be feasible and permissible under Sullivan County's Private Act, to further enhance the tax relief program, at our local level. Some counties across the state provide an additional benefit to their tax relief recipients. I want to discuss the possibility of incorporating the funds that were cut from my operational budget, from closing the two branch offices, into a program that will further benefit the tax relief recipients in Sullivan County. There may be a few hurdles to cross, but I know personally, after working with tax relief recipients over the last four years, that even if it were a small amount, it would be a huge help to many.Q: The closure of the trustee offices in Kingsport and Bristol is an issue that's come up during the campaign. Why was this a good/bad idea, will you change things, and, if so, what will you offer and how will you pay for it?A: The closure of the branch offices did not come without much thought and consideration. They proved themselves as a costly unnecessary expense to the taxpayer. They were only utilized a couple of months out of the year; their physical locations and ease of access were an inconvenience, and they were a safety issue to the handicapped and the elderly, due to parking and their locations within the county buildings. By partnering with the Bank of Tennessee, this added five safe and convenient locations throughout Sullivan County to pay property tax. This collaboration has proven to be double winner for the taxpayer as they have now have six locations to pay their property tax and it has provided a taxpayer savings of over $50,000.00 annually in operational budget decreases. I confidently believe that this was a great decision.I have just completed my fourth official tax season and it was the most successful and least stressful that we have had. Our collections through the month of March have exceeded the projected collections set forth in Sullivan County's budget for the entire year. I think this proves that my staff and I are doing what it takes to properly collect property tax.Q: Another recurring topic during the campaign has been modernization of the trustee's office through use of technology. Please share your thoughts on what has been accomplished and what yet needs to be done.A: I have brought the functions of the Trustee's office into our current century through advancements in technology. We've gone from using our software to a fourth of its capabilities to utilizing it to the fullest extent; from nearly non-existent email to incorporating it into nearly every function of our daily tasks; from hand-written ledger books to excel spreadsheets and from multiple daily visits to the bank to utilizing online banking for all our banking needs.These advancements have vastly improved our time management, increased daily efficiencies and maximized the accountability and transparency of our work.These efforts have also provided additional time for our customer service. Our most rewarding effort is to work with our tax relief recipients by phone to assist them in completing their tax relief forms. We mail a note with each form, requesting they call our office for assistance in completing their forms so they can be mailed in. We make this effort to keep them safely in their homes instead of making a trip to the office.My goal is to continue training, updating our software, and incorporating our ever-changing technology into all of our daily tasks and operations.