JORDAN HAJEK FOR CHEYENNE COUNTY ASSESSOR

QUALIFICATIONS:

  1. Certified – I worked in the office for a little over three years. I started in Jan 2019 and left the office in March 2022. I left the office due to interoffice conflict and a job opportunity at Matzke, Mattoon, Martens, and Strommen’s law office.
  2. I was offered the Deputy position within my first year in the Assessor’s Office. I received my Certificate after passing the State of Nebraska exam in North Platte in May of 2020.
  3. I have worked alongside two different third-party assessing companies learning different methods for assessing properties here in Cheyenne County.
  4. I do have 94.75 hours of training through the State and you only need 60 hours to stay certified.
  5. I have personally gone out and helped assess Sidney, Lorenzo, Gurley, Dalton and some rural properties.
  6. I have already established relationships with surrounding County Assessors to benefit from their experience and knowledge.
  7. I am a resident of Cheyenne County with no plans of leaving and intend to remain loyal to the taxpayers of Cheyenne County.
  8. I will listen to hear what taxpayers are facing.
  9. I have reported for the Assessor Office at the Commissioner meetings and answered questions related to the report.
  10. I have attended a Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) case and protest hearings, preparing me for defending the tax money/valuations owed to the County in circumstances that may arise.
  11. The job of the Deputy Assessor is to be able to jump in and do everything in case something happens to the Assessor. I know how to do almost all of the duties of the Assessor. Those that I do now know how to do, I will make sure I learn.
  12. The job I had at Cabela’s was to analyze data and figure out why it wasn’t coming into the system correctly and test for new systems to be installed. This process takes a lot of time and patience. I took it upon myself to understand every single process by learning what everyone did that would be affected by the new system. I am a very “big picture” type of person. I must know the start to finish so I can see what needs to change.

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

I have 5 children, 2 of which are my stepchildren. I have lived in Cheyenne County my entire life. I worked at Cabela’s from high school until they were bought out by Bass Pro, with second jobs at the same time. I loved my job in the Assessor’s office, it was very challenging, and I enjoyed working with the community. I left the job on March 23rd, 2022 due to interoffice conflict and a job opportunity at Matzke, Mattoon, Martens, and Strommen’s law office. I decided to run for office because I have lived here all my life and I am raising 5 kids so I want to see this community continue to thrive providing a future for my children, as well as other residents living here and future residents. With my analyzing background from Cabela’s, there have been a lot of issues I have questioned, and I would like the chance to gain clarity for myself, and then communicate that to the taxpayers of Cheyenne County. As a State employee, I am bound to uphold the policies in place for valuations, thus I am not able to make empty promises about lowering taxes, but I can promise my commitment to researching and making the effort to find a plan that could shift how the valuations are assessed to help the County. The assessed values are strictly based off sales in the County, but that is only half of the equation for determining taxes. Options I would like to implement are sectioning off Sidney into different neighborhoods, having the depreciation tables set up for all structures, reviewing all lots in Sidney and the villages, and reviewing all the sales within the rural community to see if can change the rising cost. It is my opinion that if values are going to keep rising when we do not have the impact of large companies contributing to our community then there is an issue and I plan on getting to the bottom of the process and educating the public of how that process works.

Unfortunately, County Assessor values must be set in March. As the current Assessor staff will have already assessed the majority of the County by January, I will have my work cut out for me. If I am elected and return to the office in January 2023, I will plan on reviewing all the values that the current Assessor has pushed forward and what she is having the staff change. I feel the foundation of assessment needs to be fixed in order to balance the values applied throughout the community as well as for depreciation. The real impact will become apparent for the assessment of 2024 which is when the majority of all my changes will take place. I plan on digging deep into why values are the way they are, setting the tables to run, implementing the neighborhoods and new lot values, and seeing what I can change in the rural community to make it more equalized without creating such a hike to the entire rural community.

Most importantly, I will create an environment that is focused on communication and open to the taxpayers to come in, express their concerns to either the staff or myself and work together to achieve a solution. My goal is to be active in the assessment process and a diligent participant in the community any chance I get. I will do everything in my power, under the required State regulations and statutes, to help this community continue to flourish and provide economic stability for the future, and the children.