The office of assessor was created by the provisional government in 1844. The Legislative Assembly decreed that assessments were to be made by the sheriff in 1845. The contradictions were eliminated in 1850 when the assessor was authorized to make assessments and the sheriff was authorized to collect taxes. Beginning in the 1970s, responsibility for collecting taxes was transferred from the sheriff to the assessor, treasurer, or tax collector. Now, no sheriffs collect taxes in Oregon.

The assessor, elected to four year-terms, assesses the value of taxable property and enters that information into assessment and tax rolls. The assessor certifies tax levies and delivers tax rolls to the tax collector for collection. The office also maintains property ownership records and maps, receives budgets, and extends levies to other taxing districts such as library and sewage. The state, through statutes and administrative rules, sets most of the parameters related to the procedures involved in the assessment of property taxes in Oregon.

The above was excerpted from: http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/county/cpctyoffhistcombo.html#Assessor

The first Josephine County Assessor took office on July 7, 1856.

Those who have served are:

One Year Terms – Beginning July 1856
1856-1858		J. W. Meredith
1858-1859		Daniel Lonergan
1859-1860		William Jacoby
1860-1861		James Hendershote
1861-1863		J. C. Roberts
Two Year Terms – Beginning July 1865
1863-1867		W. N. Saunders
1867-1869		B. F. Sloan
1869-1870		R. E. Foley
(served one year of a two year term)
1870-1872		E. N. Tolin
1872-1874		T. G. Patterson
1874-1876		John Taylor
1876-1878		J. P. Lewis
1878-1880		T. G. Patterson
1880-1882		Frank Desslinger
1882-1884		J. T. Bryan
1884-1886		J. P. Lewis
1886-1887		J. T. Bryan
1887-1890		P. C. Ream
1890-1892		C. E. Harmon
1892-1894		J. S. Denise
1894-1896		C. M. State
Two Year Terms – Beginning Jan. 1, 1897
1897-1898		Eclus Pollock
1899-1900		Thomas Smith
1901-1902		Charles Crow
1903-1904		W. H. Fallen
Four Year Terms – Beginning Jan. 1, 1905
1905-1908		W. H. Fallen
1909-1920		Eclus Pollock
1921-1932		D. O. Hayes
1933-1940		James J. McFadden
1941-1960		Merle Griffin
(longest serving Assessor to date)
1961-1964		Donald E. Jones
1965-1968		Walton T. White
1969-1972		Fred A. Dayton Sr.
1973-1980		George E. Trahern
1981-Feb 1986		James A. Elbel
(resigned during 2nd term)
March 1986-June 1995		Leon G. “Mickey” Rhodes
(resigned during 3rd term)
July 1995-1999	George E. Trahern
2000-2008	Michael L Schneyder
2009-Present	Constance L Roach
(first female Josephine County Assessor)

The Josephine County Assessor.pdf (70.4KB)   A Brief History

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