County clerk questions if Eastside Annex is worth it

County commissioners encountered some controversy involving the new Eastside Annex Monday, as a vote to add more services leads to claims it’s not worth it.

Commissioners wanted to add offices for the tax assessor-collector to the new annex at 2350 George Dieter Drive, but County Clerk Delia Vriones has already moved her employees out of that location due to lack of business.

While the building just opened about six months ago in May, Briones said it hasn’t been cost-effective.

“Merely $40,000 have been in, in the matter of six months,” Briones said. “That barely pays for the employee’s pay and insurance.”

The doors were locked when ABC-7 crews went by Monday, as Briones follows through on her assertion that it’s not worth keeping manpower there for now.

But the county voted 4-1 Monday to have the tax assessor-collector set up there as well, despite other concerns from Briones on how to keep the income for each department separate.

Commissioners said it’s too early to abandon the $4 million building and Tax Assessor-Collector Ruben Gonzalez said it’s not about the income anyway.

“To those constituents in that particular part of the county, or the city,” Gonzalez said, “and allow them less driving time, less travel time, and have the services taken care of closer to them.”
“I think that just after six months of the annex being open and that office being open there,” Commissioner David Stout said, “is just way too premature for us to be deciding to go ahead and close that office.”

Stout voted against the motion Monday, because he said he wanted the original plan for all services to be offered at the annex kept in place.

In the meantime, the county will be looking at having a county clerk kiosk installed to allow paying of basic fines at the annex and a couple other places in the county. Commissioners are also considering having flyers put in water bills promoting the annex and other locations available for county services outside of downtown.