Politics force changing of the assessor guard in Beaver

BEAVER – Assessor Jerry Pillath lost the Town of Beaver’s assessment work because he didn’t file his paperwork in time last year, Town of Beaver Supervisor Jerome Fendryk said. But Pillath said what happened is more about politics.

“That’s their claim. They had sent out an RFP (request for proposals) after I had presented a contract,” Pillath said, noting the Town Chair said he had received Pillath’s renewal contract, which was for a lower dollar amount than the new assessor’s proposal.

“I submitted a contract like I had done for the last 41 years. It was a renewal of the contract. They declined my offer and asked for an RFP. I didn’t submit the information they wanted on the RFP,” Pillath said.

Pillath said he offered a “very conservative” contract, but the Town Board gave the job to the new assessor. 

Politics no doubt played a role in the transition to a new assessor, said Town Chairperson Dave Bedora, who identified himself as Pillath’s cousin. He pointed to a disagreement with Pillath over the removal of maple trees near the cemetery to make way for a bypass to 141 for emergency use. Pillath was among those who opposed the Town Board’s decision to proceed with the tree removal.

“We got $80,000 to redo a road from the state. We had to do the road a certain way. The trees were too close to the blacktop,” Fendryk said. 

Pillath wanted the Town Board to turn the road into a Rustic Road. “I appealed to them to at least leave the trees there. They decided to ignore that,” Pillath said.

Fendryk said he heard Pillath’s request. “I looked into it. It didn’t qualify. It wasn’t long enough to make it a Rustic Road,” Fendryk said. “He got mad at us. He said we didn’t do what he wanted.”

The Town Board was concerned about safety, Fendryk said. The maple trees were 60 feet off the blacktop. “If someone ran off the road, they’d be dead. They were big, big trees and they were just too close to the road,” Fendryk said. “If someone gets killed, who’s going to get sued? We’re going to get sued.”

Pillath agreed politics were the reason he lost the assessor’s job in Beaver to Thomas Winters, who passed the required assessor’s test but had no actual assessing experience when he was awarded the Town of Beaver contract for $15,600. “In the previous election, I had backed one of my neighbors who wanted to run for the Town Board and developed some animosity with the Town Board that they had to go and advertise and spend money on their campaign,” Pillath said. 

The seated town supervisors faced new competition from people Pillath supported, Fendryk said. “He got some guys to run against us. They lost two-to-one on the board.”

Now Pillath is sore because he lost the town’s assessment work, Fendryk said. Still, Fendryk described Pillath as “just a nice, nice guy. You couldn’t ask for a nicer guy 99% of the time.” 

The Town Board didn’t necessarily intend to replace Pillath when it put the assessor’s job out for bid, Fendryk said. But the town supervisors were concerned Pillath was working against them, Fendryk said. “I just said to myself, ‘He didn’t want to work with us. Why would we want to work with him? He was going to replace us.’” 

Pillath also serves as assessor in several other towns and municipalities in Marinette County, including the City of Peshtigo. Reached by phone Thursday, Aug. 29, City of Peshtigo Clerk Tammy Kasal said Pillath works independently and without issue as the assessor for Peshtigo. “Since I’ve been here, six-and-a-half years, I don’t think we’ve had any complaints,” she said.

The assessment process runs smoothly, Kasal said. “We don’t even have anybody ever come to the (Board of Review) meeting. They just hash it out with him,” she said. “It makes it easier for us at the meeting.”

Pillath said he enjoys contributing to the communities he and his wife serve. Ruth accompanies him on property visits. “We think of our job as being an expression of government when we interact with people. I feel strongly it’s my duty to make that interaction positive and to help everybody have a better life.”

Winters described his first year as Town of Beaver assessor as “challenging.” But he said, “I’m learning a lot. Every year from now on is going to be better and better.”