Columbiana County deputy auditor retiring
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LISBON -- Columbiana County Deputy Auditor Mike Smith just announced he's retiring after 31 1/2 years in the real estate department.
When asked what he's going to do now, he said "I'm going to Disney World."
He's not joking, even though it's close to April Fool's Day -- his youngest daughter, Elise, works there full-time.
His retirement, which takes effect Friday, will be celebrated at the county Auditor's Office from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. today in the conference room. The office plans to close at noon.
Smith said he and his wife Laurie also plan to visit their daughter, Jennie, and her family in Charleston, S.C., and their son Phillip and his family in Columbus, to spend time with them and watch their grandchildren, which includes five girls and one boy, in their various sporting events. He might even pick up a camera again, this time for pleasure, work on his golf game and walk on a beach.
He also may dust off his coaching hat to help his grandchildren with their softball or baseball skills.
After a work life that spans more than 55 years starting at Camera Mart in East Liverpool when he was a teen, Smith appears ready to relax.
"I'm leaving everybody in capable hands," he said.
For anyone who had questions about their real estate valuation or wanted to know why their property taxes increased, Smith offered a voice of reason. He even said that explaining valuations to the public is one of the aspects of his job he's going to miss. People would walk in angry and by the time he finished talking with them about their valuation, they understood and left not angry, shaking his hand on the way out and thanking him. He enjoyed those daily interactions with the public and people in the courthouse.
"I'm going to miss working with the people in the offices, the day-to-day, saying 'hi' to everybody. I'll miss that the most," he said.
When he first started in September 1991 working for the late Pat Hadley, who was county auditor, he was on the road measuring houses and checking on new construction while being trained by Bob Mellinger.
Back then, there were no computers. All the real estate information was written on cards, including the drawings of homes. His first big assignment was to help transcribe everything from those cards into a computer program, all 70,000-plus parcels. The challenge was to finish in time for the 1992 reappraisal. There was a day crew working on it, then Smith was asked to lead a night crew. They got the job done in a year, just in time for the reappraisal.
Over the years, his duties have come to include answering questions about values of real estate and researching properties for the Board of Revision and handling everything dealing with real estate, including keeping track of tax abatement programs in the various communities.
He had worked at Camera Mart for 24 years for Larry Walton, doing everything from sweeping the floor to sales. He also worked as a photographer, taking pictures at weddings and dances, and even shot some sports for the Review. He had taken classes at both Kent State East Liverpool and Ohio Valley Business College. Hadley approached Walton, telling him the real estate position would be a good opportunity for Smith.
Smith said it was a tough decision, but one of the best he ever made. His experience in retail helped him relate to people, which comes in handy when people are upset about their tax bill. Over his career, he said there's only about 10 people who gave him a really hard time. He appreciated the public coming into the office, with most of them courteous.
He's had to parcel out his duties among the remaining staff at the auditor's office and said the people working in the field need to just take their time and double check everything. He said they'll all do a great job. He said "what we do reflects on the auditor and our office."
Smith had nothing but kind words for his three bosses, too, naming Walton, Hadley and longtime current county Auditor Nancy Gause Milliken.
"I've been very fortunate," he said.