Gov. Robert Bentley cleaned house at the Mobile County Board of Equalization, installing three new appointees to replace members named by his predecessor, and in doing so displayed once again his willingness to defy conventional political expectations.
The board, which reviews property values in the county, forms part of the machinery that underlies local property taxation, and its membership carries quiet but real consequences for how assessments are handled.
An unorthodox pick
Among Bentley’s choices was a name that raised eyebrows: venerable Democratic figure William Clark, a former state legislator and retired school administrator. His many rental properties, observers noted wryly, arguably qualified him to sit in review of property values. For a Republican governor to appoint a longtime Democrat underscored Bentley’s penchant for the unexpected.
The governor’s other appointees were former state Rep. Ken Kvalheim and Tommy Tyrrell, the latter of whom had also recently been appointed to the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the city of Mobile. The part-time equalization board position paid about $12,000 a year.
Out with the old
The new appointments displaced members named by former Gov. Bob Riley. Those leaving the board included former state legislator Jeannette Greene, real estate businessman Ruffin Graham and former county revenue commission official Doug Sanders.
The turnover reflected the way a change in the governor’s office can reshape appointed boards down to the county level, as a new administration installs its own choices in positions that had been filled under a predecessor.
How the picks are made
The process behind the appointments ran through several hands. Various municipalities throughout Mobile County recommend prospects for the equalization board to the state revenue commissioner, a post then held by Julie Magee of Mobile County. The commissioner, in turn, forwarded her selections to the governor for appointment.
That layered process gave local governments a role in suggesting candidates while leaving the final decision with the state, a structure that balanced local input against gubernatorial authority.
Quiet work, real stakes
Boards of equalization rarely command public attention, yet their work touches property owners directly. By reviewing valuations, the board influences the base on which property taxes are levied, making its composition a matter of consequence even if it seldom makes headlines.
Bentley’s reshaping of the Mobile County board, and particularly his cross-party appointment of Clark, offered a small but telling example of how the governor approached the many appointments that fell to his office. For Mobile County, the changeover installed a new slate to carry out a function that, however low-profile, remained a fixture of local government.