Four candidates seek the office of Camden County Collector. There is no incumbent in the race. Three Republicans face off in the August primary for the right to face lone Democrat Jaqueline Samuelson in the November election.
The three Republicans vying for the office spoke at a Camdenton Area Chamber of Commerce candidate breakfast sponsored by Missouri Ozarks Community Action (MOCA). Samuelson also attended.
Vicky North Burns (R)
• 11 year employee of Camden County Collector’s Office
• 5 years as Lead Deputy Collector
“A lot of people think the collector’s office just collects money and then deposits it, but there is a lot more to it than that.”
Burns spoke on her experience in the collector’s office as an advantage to her campaign. She told the crowd at the candidate forum that a county collector has more job duties than many citizens realize.
“Last year, the collector’s office in tax dollars was responsible for $61,660,725.07. That was just in tax dollars. We’re also responsible for the county merchant licenses and the lodging tax; we collect that and then it is dispersed each month,” Burns explained.
The “lifelong” Camdenton resident spoke of her working relationship with Camden County Collector Linda Sweatt, who is retiring in lieu of running for reelection. Burns noted another job duty of the collector.
“Every year we have a tax sale, and about the last five or six years that Linda Sweatt has conducted it I have sat right beside her clerking that sale, so I know how to conduct that. There are a lot of legalities to it. It’s not an easy job,” Burns said.
Chuck Baker (R)
• business owner (disaster cleaning and restoration)
“I’m the type of person that takes personal responsibility for what I am managing. I share the credit and take the blame for failures. As a leader, I think that’s what a leader does.”
Baker spoke of his experience in business and his decision to move to Camden County 18 years ago.
“When I moved out here from California in ‘92 to start my business—to get away from the rat race—I worked my way up through a company, starting in the cleanup crew to executive management. That company did about $18 million in sales and after working there for four years, when I left they did $80 million in sales that I was third in charge of,” Baker said.
Baker says he is not a politician, and does not think the county collector should be driven by political desire. He made a technology-driven campaign promise during his address.
“I will stand here today and promise that I will force the issue of automation for the offices that need it in our county to better serve our citizens. In this growing county, we need that type of leadership,” Baker said.
Ron Gentry (R)
• former Mid-County Fire Chief
“My campaign is based on four words: leadership, dedication, honesty, and integrity.”
Gentry pledged to explore technological ways to modernize the county collector’s office.
“I want to see what it would take to set up a link between the collector’s office and the Camdenton License Bureau for realtime data sharing and realtime access to pay tax receipts,” Gentry said.
Gentry also expressed a desire for a courtesy phone call system that would notify property owners facing delinquent tax payments. Gentry said the phone calls would save the expense of publishing delinquent tax notices in a newspaper. The former Mid-County fire chief also pledged to work with other county collectors and state officials to change the timeframe for tax payments.
“There are other states that pay real estate taxes in January and personal property taxes in July. I have heard this from several people in the community and they want to know why Missouri can’t do the same thing,” Gentry said.
Finally, Gentry called for the collector’s office to develop electronic receipts in order to speed up property tax payments, make the office more accessible, and cut the cost of paper receipts.
Jaqueline Samuelson (D)
• business owner
“I can implement some very small changes that will snowball into big changes economically in the government offices.”
Samuelson believes her real estate and business background make her a good fit for the collector’s office.
“I have been in Camden County for a long time and watched how our economy has pushed problems on us all. I am a small business owner/small business manager. One of the things I think is important is that we all have to take the bull by the horns. We have to manage our county finances, our government finances, as if they were our own,” Samuelson said.
Though running as a Democrat, Samuelson tossed out a Republican buzzword in a one-on-one interview. She spoke of her desire to cut costs wherever possible.
“I’m a very fiscal conservative. I am very interested in efficiency in the public offices,” Samuelson said.
Technologically speaking, Samuelson says the county collector’s office should embrace some online options for its patrons while keeping security in mind.
“We should have access to be able to pay our bills online. We should have access to motor vehicle registration online. And those things should be connected so that we can do our business easily and efficiently,” Samuelson said.
