Taxpayer Berates Washita County Excise Board Members

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  • Ron Wollmann addresses the county excise board Dec. 2. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
    Ron Wollmann addresses the county excise board Dec. 2. Bob Henline | The Cordell Beacon
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The members of the Washita County Excise Board got an earful from an angry county taxpayer during their Dec. 2, 2019, regular meeting. Ron Wollmann of Kast Trust Farms, who recently won an ad valorem tax appeal lawsuit against the county, berated the board members individually and collectively over the issue.

He first addressed board chair Jimmy Musick, accusing him of conducting the appeal hearing in an improper manner. He claimed that the former county assessor, Clayton Twyman, was allowed to present testimony after the hearing at the public meeting at which the board’s decision was announced. He also said Twyman was allowed to sit at the table with the board members, which showed favoritism in the decision. Both of these occurrences, he said, violated his constitutional rights, although he didn’t explain how.

Wollmann then addressed board member Keith Weichel, claiming Weichel should have recused himself from the decision as he didn’t attend the formal hearing held prior to the board’s decision. Weichel’s participation in the decision, he claimed, also violated his constitutional rights. He then turned his anger to board member Jerry Burrows, who he called “a piece of work,” accusing him of refusing to even consider the law involved in the tax challenge.

He told the board, collectively, that the two-year legal battle caused him both emotional and financial distress. He estimated his legal fees at around $100,000, and he stated his intention to seek recovery of those fees in court.

“There’s a lawsuit coming to recover those costs,” he said.

Board chair Jimmy Musick addressed Wollmann after he concluded his remarks. He apologized to Wollmann for any emotional distress that arose from the situation, stating neither the board nor the county intended to cause any harm. The board, he said, followed the advice of the assessor and the assistant district attorney in the matter and that the situation was handled in an appropriate manner.

In the Tax Roll Correction meeting following the excise board meeting, county assessor Krystle Uecke informed the board members that Wollmann’s ad valorem taxes had been corrected for tax years 2017, 2018, and 2019.