Woods County is hiring an outside firm to do visual property inspections this year. The assessor’s office usually hires someone locally and pays for transportation. Assessor Renetta Benson told the Woods County Commissioners Monday her office does not have someone for that job, so she talked to Will Sizemore of Green Country Valuation. The cost is less than hiring someone locally. She said it would take Green Country only two weeks to complete the visual inspections. The commissioners approved the contract and said it would probably be better to go that route next year as well.

With concerns a...