New treasurer, clerk & recorder take office

In the past few weeks, oaths of office were administered to a new clerk and recorder and a new treasurer/assessor, who are each replacing elected Lake County officials who stepped down recently.

Kendra Steele took the helm as clerk and recorder June 12, replacing Katie Harding, who left her post in May for another job. Kendra Steele was sworn in last Wednesday as county treasurer, replacing Robin Vert-Rubel, who retired. Both Harding and Vert-Rubel were elected last November, and their positions will appear on the ballot in 2024.

Clerk & Recorder Kendra Steele

Steele, a former Missoula middle school teacher who lives in Polson, says the multi-faceted nature of her new job “seemed like a good challenge.” The clerk and recorder oversees the office that issues birth and death certificates and records and files property documents; her list of duties also includes auditor, public administrator and surveyor.

“It felt like a leap at first from my identity as teacher to my identity as clerk and recorder – it’s a different mindset,” she said. “But as I’ve moved into the job, a lot of skills I have really do translate over to a lot of parts of the job.”

Steele earned her undergraduate degree in business and a master’s in education from the University of Montana. She taught middle school students for 18 years, which she admits “is kind of a management nightmare,” and specialized in helping kids understand math. Prior to her teaching career she worked in banking as a mortgage lender.

Steele and her husband, Cody, bought land in Polson and planned to eventually retire here. But the pandemic sped their move north. Their youngest of three boys was a junior when COVID struck and wanted a more “normal” setting for his final year in high school. Since Missoula schools were mostly online in 2020-21, the family moved to Polson where schools had resumed full-time, rented a house and began building their own home.

“He had a great experience at Polson High School,” says Steele. Meanwhile her husband – an independent insurance agent – helped coach the Pirates football team.

After two years of commuting, Steele wanted to spend more time with her family and getting to know their new community. When she saw a posting for the job of clerk and recorder, “I thought this could be a good change and a challenge – both of those things rolled in one.”

“I literally got done with teaching on a Friday and started here on Monday,” she says of the transition.

Steele says her predecessor – “who was so proficient, so detail-oriented” – left reports and manuals outlining her responsibilities. The staff has been a great resource too. “They’re amazing – they know so much about all parts of their jobs.”

Steele has been surprised by a few aspects of the job, such as her role as a conservator, who helps a handful of Lake County residents manage their finances. “It’s been very rewarding to meet those people and make sure their basic needs are being met,” she said.

She’s also surprised by the how much her office interacts with other departments in the courthouse, including the courts, planning, environmental health, the commissioners and the treasurer. “Everyone in the courthouse has been wonderful to work with and has been very patient with me as I’m learning,” she said.

Steele says she appreciates spending more time in Polson and less time commuting. “We really like a smaller community where people know each other more.”

“That’s what I grew up with,” says the native of Chester – a Hi-Line town that makes Polson look like “a metropolis.”

As to running for office in a year, she plans to ask for help. “I’ve never run for office before so it’s not really my strength,” she says. “I’ll be recruiting people to help with that part.”

Commissioner Gale Decker noted that there were several good applicants for clerk and recorder, “but Kendra’s enthusiasm and outgoing personality separated her from the others.”

Treasurer/Assessor Erika Jennison

Although Erika Jennison took her oath of office as county treasurer/assessor last Wednesday, she’s been training for the job for nearly four years and spent the previous 13 years working as an assessor for the Department of Revenue.

Jennison went to work for the DOR after graduating from Polson High, first as an assessor and then as the lead property evaluation specialist for Lake, Mineral and Sanders counties. She worked closely with Lake County and was eventually recruited by Rubel-Vert when the state quit updating the information that the county needed for its tax rolls.

“When the county found out they had to update their own records, they offered me a job here as deputy assessor,” she said. “It was pretty much the same job I had with the state – I just sat at a different desk.”

The Montana Department of Revenue is responsible for appraising – or valuing – property in the state to determine its market value, numbers that are in turn used by counties, cities and school districts to calculate property taxes.

County governments are responsible for collecting property taxes and distributing the appropriate portion to the state, cities, school districts, other taxing jurisdictions (such as fire and water/sewer districts) and the county itself.

The treasurer’s office sits at the center of this process, sending out property tax bills, receiving and dispersing tax collections and overseeing motor vehicle registration and licensing.

In her old job with the DOR, Jennison says, “you’re not handling money but you’re dealing with a lot of numbers.” At the treasurer’s office, “we handle both numbers and money.”

After Rubel-Vert announced her retirement in April, Jennison’s training in the responsibilities of county treasurer intensified.

“The last three months were like bam, bam, bam,” said Jennison. In addition to hands-on instruction, her boss and mentor also left “amazing instructions … I feel pretty comfortable – I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited.”

She describes school finances as her “biggest learning curve.” According to Jennison, Polson, Ronan and Arlee school districts each have their own in-house finance departments, while the county helps Charlo, St. Ignatius and Dayton with those duties.

Jennison oversees eight employees, two in taxes, two in bookkeeping and four in motor vehicles. She’s looking for a ninth, to assume her former duties as deputy assessor.

Jennison “has been in training to take over the treasurer’s position for a couple of years,” Decker noted. “Her years working at the Montana Department of Revenue prior to coming to Lake County will also be helpful.”

Jennison agrees that her years of training are invaluable. “There would be no way you’d just know how to do this job,” she added. “It takes months and months – maybe years – of just learning.”

Jennison’s husband, Jeff, works at Murdoch’s and the couple has two dogs. Her maiden name is Marquardt, and both families have deep roots in the Mission Valley.

Both Jennison and Steele say they plan to run for office next year.