Judge rules against assessor's request for county-funded attorney

TRENTON, Neb. -- In a recent set of rulings, a judge has sided with Hitchcock County commissioners and Nebraska's property tax administrator, and against Hitchcock County's assessor who made claims last year that she had been wronged as she defends some of her property valuations and her valuation procedures.

District Court Judge Richard Birch also ruled that county assessor Marlene Bedore's request for an attorney at the county's expense is a moot point.

Bedore was accused last year of raising property values for foes and lowering property values for associates and campaign supporters. Bedore took office in January 2015 and by May, the Nebraska Department of Revenue was fielding questions about her methods of setting property values and started an investigation.

The department's report indicated that there was a pattern to suggest that properties had been adjusted with a bias, and that Bedore deliberately concealed her office's activities from outside inquiries. The revenue department and tax administrator Ruth Sorenson recommended as punishment a year's probation, 14 corrective measures and completion of five educational courses by September 2016.

Late last year, Bedore claimed that she was denied due process as she defended her property valuations and procedures, and she requested that an attorney be appointed, at the county's expense, to represent her.

Commissioners responded that they were not wrong to accept a report from Sorenson regarding corrective measures outlined for Bedore, and that Bedore is not entitled to a court-appointed attorney.

During a hearing on Feb. 5, Judge Richard Birch took under advisement arguments from both sides, and ruled on Feb. 25 that "petitions of error" that Bedore filed against commissioners and against Sorensen should be dismissed, making her request for an attorney a moot point.