Tift County commissioners appoint Lindy Bengston to Board of Assessors after tight votes

The Tift County Board of Commissioners appointed Lindy Bengston to a six-year term on the Board of Assessors following a contested series of votes at its Feb. 10 regular meeting.

Chairman Tony McBrayer opened nominations for the vacancy under Resolution No. 2025-01. Commissioner Donnie Hester nominated incumbent Frankie Mathis; Commissioner Stan Stalnaker nominated Lindy Bengston. A motion to appoint Mathis failed 3-4, with Commissioners Melissa Hughes, Donnie Hester and Fred "Buck" Rigdon recorded as voting for Mathis and Commissioners Paul Webb, Greg Wood, Stan Stalnaker and Chairman McBrayer voting against.

Stalnaker then moved to appoint Bengston; Commissioner Paul Webb seconded. The motion passed 4-3, with Webb, Wood, Stalnaker and McBrayer voting in favor and Hughes, Hester and Rigdon opposed.

Commissioner Melissa Hughes, who voted against the appointment, urged the board to remember that constituents upset about the county’s recent property revaluation had called for the board’s removal and warned the county could lose institutional knowledge if Mathis were not reappointed. "Remember that those 'chattering' and complaining about the way the property revaluation have called for this Board to be removed as a result," Hughes said in the meeting record.

The appointment concluded without additional committee directives. The board later also appointed Michael W. Gibbs to fill an unexpired assessor term in a separate 5-1 vote.

What happens next: Bengston will serve the six-year term established by county resolution; the board did not announce any immediate review or changes to the assessor office’s process during the meeting.