LOWELL | It's not a "one-size-fits-all world" in which the elimination of township assessors would benefit everyone, state Rep. Don Lehe, R-Brookston, told a crowd of 40 south Lake County residents.

"I don't agree with getting rid of assessors. First, I don't think assessing can be done cheaper another way," Lehe said Wednesday.

He said assessors that spend 30 percent of their budgets on administrative costs are the culprits behind some legislators' desire to eliminate the position. Lehe said township assessors and trustees in rural areas, where they do not duplicate services, could be preserved.

West Creek Township Trustee/Assessor Rick Niemeyer said township administrative costs in south Lake County range from 3 percent to 5 percent.

Resident Sandy Fuller said township officials are her only source of help in the county. She said trying to get through to county offices on the telephone is difficult and trips to county offices have yielded incorrect information.

Township offices provide accurate information quickly without an appointment, she said. "The county is no help to me. If we lose you people (township officials), we will have no help at all."

Niemeyer said, "I think they're (state officials) using township assessors as a scapegoat."

However, Niemeyer said if township officials are eliminated and assessments are handled at the county level, it will most likely be outsourced as it was for the reassessment.

"It took two to three years to straighten out the mess created by an outside firm," Niemeyer said. "It's cost you as taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest because schools, libraries and everyone is borrowing."

In the meantime, state legislation has made township assessors the only elected position that must pass a test and be certified.