The Barton County Appraiser’s Office is gearing up to set property values for 2013 and office personnel are answering questions pertaining to 2012 values as tax bills have been mailed.
This information from County Appraiser Barbara Konrade came up at the Barton County Commission meeting Monday morning during a report from County Administrator Richard Boeckman. Every two weeks, Boeckman presents highlights of the activities from county departments.
According to Konrade’s information, persons wishing to appeal a 2012 value may file a Payment under Protest. Assistance is available from her staff.
In addition, Appraiser’s Office employees are continuing to measure properties where building permits were issued and\or where properties have sold. As always, vehicles are clearly marked with the county’s logo and all employees wear badges.
Konrade also said her office welcomes any questions that a citizen may have regarding appraisals, revitalization or any other appraisal-related questions.
Other report highlights include:
 
 Road and Bridge Director Dale Phillips
• Mowing of right of way is on-going with the final mowing is scheduled for completion by December 31, 2012. At this time, the western third of the County has not been mowed. The extreme dry weather is a contributing factor as dust prevents the mowing efforts.
• Sign work continues. To date, there have been 152 vandalized signs.
• The department is patching potholes throughout the County.
• Sand is being pumped from the South Washington Pit.
• Bridge work on three locations was completed over the past two weeks with six culverts being repaired or replaced.
Road and Bridge Year in Review
200 – culvert repairs or replacements
40 miles – asphalt overlay and strip patching
250 miles – roads where pothole were patched as needed
85 miles – asphalt road sand or chip sealed
312,709 gallons – sealing oil used
115 miles – center line and edge stripped
25,500 tons – asphalt mixed
96 – graves and headstones marked
300 one calls – locates for safety made before citizens began projects
1,000 – signs replaced
75 – bridges repaired

911 Director Doug Hubbard
• In October and November, there were a total of 19,885 calls to the 911 Center. Of those, 17,191 came on the administrative lines and the rest to 911. Of the 911 calls, 2,040 came from cell phones and 653 from land lines.
• In October and November, dispatch has been on training – not only training for new employees, but also for senior staff members as maintenance of certification is critical.
• The 911 Advisory Board met in October to review the procedures and practices of the responding agencies in Barton County. Input from responders allows for quality improvement. Communications staff shared operational procedures and upgrades at the same time.

Information Technology Director John Debes
• Monitor the TTC, exchange servers and sonic wall firewall continues. During this period, the combination stopped 11,237 spam messages, 199 viruses, 16 spyware attemptions and 10 intrusions.
• Calculated 2012 taxes, printed tax roll and statements, activated the 2012 tax collection application, sent 2012 tax statements to the State for payments via the internet, sent electronic statements and ran the November abstract.
• Calculated the 2012 NRP for parcels with have multiple rebates.
• Updated tax rolls with electronic bank codes.
• Assisted with the November election.
• Started Accepting bids for replacement computers for various offices.
 
Health Department Director Lily Akings
Clinic contacts, totaling, 612
Immunizations, 335
Family Planning, 119
Tuberculosis, 31
Sexually transmitted infection, 27
Maternal and infant, 42
Healthy Start, 30