Reynolds to retire after 36 years as Cape County assessor

Jerry Reynolds, who saw the county's taxable property value grow from $176 million to more than $1 billion in his 36 years as Cape Girardeau County assessor, announced Friday he won't seek re-election later this year.

Reynolds, the lone Democrat among a slew of Republican county officeholders, said Friday he had been considering retirement for some time.

"Age shouldn't have anything to do with it, but I'm 74," Reynolds said. "I just think it's time -- 36 years is long enough. And it's been a good 36 years."

But unlike other elected officials, Reynolds will still hold office until Aug. 31, 2013. The person voters choose as his replacement -- two others have expressed interest in the job -- will take over Sept. 1, 2013, meaning Reynolds still has about 20 months left on the job.

Most county officials elected this year will take office Jan. 1 next year. But because property assessments have to be submitted before June 1, state statutes push back the day assessors take office so that new assessors aren't blindsided by the task.

"It's not hardly right for a new assessor to come in and try to get that done in that amount of time," Reynolds said.

Ron Andrews, the assessor's information technology director, and Bob Adams, a Jackson appraiser, have each said they intend to file to replace Reynolds.

Reynolds was first elected in 1976, when there was more parity between parties locally. He remembers that there were about as many Democrats as Republicans, maybe slightly more, in county government back then.

But that has hardly mattered in his job, he said. Cape Girardeau County Democrats are more conservative than in other places and his job hardly seemed political except near elections, he said.

"I'm not saying I'm a Republican," he said, chuckling. "I basically have the old Democrat leanings. But in offices like assessor or collector, politics don't mean anything."

Even as the county began its monumental shift from largely Democratic to the Republican-dominated area it is today, that also never seemed to faze Reynolds -- or his chances at re-election. He hasn't had an opponent in the general election in 28 years, and he hasn't faced a Democrat in the primary in 24.

When asked if that hinted at least a modicum of respect from both parties, Reynolds said, "I hope that would be true. I've had across-the-board support through the years."

While Reynolds agreed that a job like assessor is largely a thankless one, he pointed out it is important -- determining property values starts the process for funding all taxing entities and setting all tax rates.

Whether it's for school districts, municipalities or fire districts, Reynolds said, "if you don't have the assessment, you don't have the basis for funding."

Reynolds has overseen more than three decades of what he describes as steady growth in property values, which his peers credited to his attention to detail and a dedication to the task at hand.

Former Cape Girardeau County clerk Rodney Miller said that Reynolds managed to avoid controversy and never had any use for the "good old boy" mentality.

"Jerry treated everybody fairly," Miller said. "He just went about his job. I'm sure everybody wasn't happy with him at times, but that's the nature of that job."

Former presiding commissioner Gerald Jones noted that Reynolds' 36 years is more county service than Jones and fellow former presiding commissioner Gene Huckstep combined.

The assessor's office may seem low-key, Jones said, but Reynolds has been intricately involved in the recruitment and development of many new businesses in the county. Reynolds was a part of encouraging Procter & Gamble's new paper plant in 1996.

He also traveled with other county officials to Germany to give a presentation to M&W's board of directors. It's now known as Nordenia USA, but Jones said that without Reynolds, he doesn't think those developments would have happened.

"Any time there's a negotiation that takes place, Jerry's been involved in it," he said. "He's been a tremendous asset to our county."

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