By Arizona law, two county officials – an assessor and a treasurer – can be suspended by a board of supervisors, despite being elected. And this was the outcome for Gila County Assessor Joseph Williams in a special Board of Supervisors meeting on Friday.

The board voted unanimously to suspend Williams, without pay, for 120 days, in a meeting called to address Williams’ reported neglect of duty – for which, according to Arizona Revised Statutes 11-664, the above officials may be suspended. County Manager James Menlove explained to the board that this was due to the financial impact neglect of their duties could have. Since the vote was unanimous, Williams’ suspension took effect immediately. Board Chairman Woody Cline said they had met to “correct a pretty tough situation.”

Gila County Human Resources Director Richard Husk reported to the supervisors that Williams, elected in 2020, had been unavailable to both his staff and taxpayers for some time. For example, Husk said that Williams had not responded to taxpayer inquiries since February. “We’ve heard complaints coming to the County where individuals are saying this is impeding their ability to do business in the county, to acquire property,” he said.

Husk added that Williams had not used his card access to County buildings since February 14, and only used it three times that month, three in January, four in December 2022 and “sporadically prior to that.” According to Husk’s report, records also showed limited contact by Williams from his work phone.

Williams’ absence was also affecting the operation of his office - including hiring for two open positions, which required his input. Husk added that there were also payroll and travel authorization issues. “There’s always a concern for somebody to have signature authorization in the Assessor’s Office, and it’s been difficult to get the Assessor to authorize appropriate people to sign, both in Payson and in Globe, as is required.”

Husk said much of this came to light after the March 29 resignation of Chief Deputy Assessor Ken Burrell (who now holds the same position in Yavapai County). Burrell resigned after Williams allegedly overruled him to approve an appraiser’s reduced valuation for one resident.

Williams did not attend Friday’s meeting, and did not return a call seeking comment.

Supervisor Tim Humphrey asked why these issues had not come to the board sooner. Menlove replied that Burrell’s presence – he was administratively authorized – had allowed the office to carry on, but since his resignation things had reached “a dead end.” He added that, while there were staff concerns about overstepping their bounds with an official elected by voters, the situation had to be addressed. Menlove added that Assessor’s Office staff were “stuck” when it came to administrative matters like approving time sheets.

Yvonne House, from the Assessor’s Payson office, read out a letter on behalf of other employees. “We have known Joe for a long time. We voted for him, stood by him and supported him,” it read in part. “However, he has let down his employees and those who elected him into office by not being available. It is unfair for the ones who have done much of the work in his absence, without any acknowledgment or decision-making on his part. As an elected official, he needs to be available to serve our taxpayers.”

Supervisor Steve Christensen asked whether the suspension and a suggested replacement could come in one motion. On the advice of Deputy County Attorney Jefferson Dalton, they were split into two motions. Another question, whether to suspend Williams without pay, was less clear; ARS11-664 is silent on this. “There is apparently a statute that permits the board to suspend a constable without pay, but I’m not sure where that takes us,” Dalton said. The law also does not specify whether a replacement should be of the same political party (Williams is a Republican).

Cline said he would like the matter of pay included in any motion, and so it was; Christensen moved to suspend Williams, without pay, for the 120 days allowed by statute, and his motion passed unanimously. Had it been less than unanimous, the suspension would have taken effect in 10 days or at the end of a hearing if Williams requested one and the board sustained its action.

Cline expressed one concern, that the board might have to issue further 120-day suspensions before the next election. “If there are any legislators out there, when they hear this audio maybe they could go back in there and correct that to where we could make suspension until the next election on an issue like this.”

Humphrey asked whether anyone in the Assessor’s Office wished to replace Williams; Cline replied that, according to information he had received, they did not. Humphrey then moved to appoint Menlove to the office, and his motion also passed unanimously. Menlove told the board he would work with Assessor’s Office staff, as well as reaching out to Williams to “try to get some interaction to see if we can’t get some of these things pulled together so they can operate more efficiently.”