Davison County's director of equalization terminated after 10 months on the job

Sam Fosness, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·2 min read

May 16—MITCHELL — Davison County Director of Equalization Rachel Weber was terminated on Tuesday, but officials are not commenting on the matter still.

After an executive session during Tuesday's Davison County Commission meeting, the commissioners unanimously agreed to terminate Weber as the county's director of equalization. She held the position for less than one year.

Commissioners Chris Nebelsick and Mike Blaalid declined to comment about why the commission decided to terminate Weber due to the decision pertaining to personnel matters.

Multiple calls and a voicemail to Davison County Chair Randy Reider were not returned immediately Thursday.

Weber was named the director of equalization in July 2023. The same five commissioners who appointed Weber to the role fired her on Tuesday. Prior to becoming the director of equalization, Weber served as a deputy for the Davison County Auditor's Office.

As the director of equalization, Weber's annual salary was $64,260. Her primary duties included ensuring all properties in Davison County are identified and assessed in an equal and uniform manner. In addition, Weber was responsible for guiding property owners through the property assessment appeal process. Weber also oversaw a handful of county assessors.

This year, there were a significant number of property assessment appeals brought in front of the Davison County Board of Equalization. According to county officials, there were 297 appeals, a 10% increase from the previous year's 269 appeals. Of the appeals that were processed, only two were denied and later came to a compromise with the respective property owners whose appeals were denied.

As property assessment appeals came funneling in during the spring, Weber encouraged property owners considering an appeal to contact the equalization office she was the head of at the time.

"We don't turn anybody away, we're not shy, and we welcome anybody that has any type of question," Weber told the Mitchell Republic in a March interview. "We're here to help people understand."

Davison County's website says Weber began working for the auditors office in July of 2022. She graduated from Tripp-Delmont High School and attended Mitchell Technical College and graduated with five associate degrees, two being Business management and Accounting. The webpage says Weber had nine years of experience working in county/city government.

The county began advertising the director of equalization job this week.