Board hires Lori Buchanan as Jones County chief appraiser

The board returned to regular session and voted unanimously to hire Lori Buchanan as Jones County chief appraiser, the board announced. A motion to appoint Buchanan carried without dissent after the board said it had selected her as the final candidate.

The board told Buchanan it expected the appraiser's office to emphasize transparency, fairness to taxpayers and professionalism. "This board has absolutely vowed to clean up issues that needed to be cleaned, to remedy problems, to provide taxpayers with fairness ... to provide complete and total transparency," the chair said, asking Buchanan to continue the board's stated commitments if she is sworn in.

A board member formally moved the appointment, saying, "I motion that we uh hire Miss Buchanan for the position of the chief appraiser for Jones County." Another member seconded the motion. The chair called the vote and said it was unanimous. "It is unanimous. Congratulations," the chair added.

Members said they would finalize employment details and anticipated a June start date. The board also discussed a transition plan involving Mr. Davis, who will be pulled into the transition process to help onboard Buchanan. The meeting concluded after a motion and second to adjourn.

The appointment was recorded on the meeting record; the motion text and the unanimous vote were entered during open session. Specific vote tallies and the names of the motion mover and seconder were not specified on the record beyond the spoken motion and the board's announcement.

Next procedural steps noted during the session include finalizing hire details and beginning the transition toward the expected June start date.