Five Questions: David Stokely

David Stokely has the unenviable task of filling a notoriously vacant position. The newly appointed Christian County Assessor replaces Sandra Bryant-Littles, who was arrested at the courthouse in October 2009 and charged with mail fraud for failing to accurately assess her own property. She stepped down after pleading guilty to those charges on Nov. 9. Stokely, an agricultural consultant and owner of the 57-acre Stokely Farms, starts a new era at a vital governmental seat in one of Missouri’s fastest-growing counties.

Q: How did you arrive at being appointed assessor?
A: I put my name forward to be considered, as did others. The Republican and Democratic central committees interviewed a lot of people and each put a name forward. It’s my understanding that other individuals in the county also were considered. I was put forward by the Democratic Central Committee. We had to fill out applications and provide letters of recommendation and were interviewed by the governor’s office, and they did background checks. It was a rigorous process.

Q: At Stokely Farms in Billings, you offer horse boarding and training. Will you still run the day-to-day operations?
A: I jokingly tell people that my wife is the horse-head of the family, and I am the other end. She’s the horse expert of the operation, and I tend to be the chief cook and bottle washer, mechanic, electrician and poop scooper. But, yes, it will change. Obviously, my responsibilities with the county will be the top priority.

Q: You were sworn in as assessor Dec. 2. How does your experience as an environmental and agricultural consultant qualify you for the job?
A: I have a lot of experience with physical properties and mapping. As far as my familiarity with agricultural and business properties, farm values and equipment, I have dealt with those in a slightly different aspect, but certainly on a professional basis. A lot of what we do is mapping, and personal property, real estate and depreciation. My background in business has dealt with those kinds of things.

Q: Do you have any concerns about replacing Sandra Bryant-Littles?
A: The only concern I have is to do the best job possible. There is going to have to be some restoration of trust and faith … but I would hope that everyone understands that the actions of one individual are just that. It should be no reflection on the overall functioning of the office. It’s been a very difficult situation, for sure. I have nothing but the highest commendations for the staff. They’ve done a really excellent job, especially considering the circumstances.   

Q: What are your goals?
A: The short-term goal is to make sure the assessment lists are sent out in January. December and January are extremely busy times in the office. Our first goal is to keep up with our daily business. In the bigger picture, I think there is a lot of room for upgrades and ways to improve our efficiency. Our data collectors in the field still have to hand-sketch properties, and then someone else at the office has to make a digital sketch that is transcribed into square footage and run through our standard depreciation and evaluation programs. There are extra steps involved that I think we can streamline and make more efficient by the use of some technologies, especially programs and laptops in the field. I think we can save taxpayers money while doing our jobs better and kill two birds with one stone.[[In-content Ad]]