New County Assessor Jamie Freeman says change and challenge have expedited her career

If you ask Jamie Freeman how she came to be the Assessor of Clearwater County, she’ll tell you she likes change, and she likes a challenge. Those two attributes have been spotlights during her career, and what eventually led to her appointment as assessor.
Jamie has worked for the County for 23 years, and has constantly reached for new heights during her time here.
“I have always found real estate and the building trades to be extremely fascinating. Even in high school, I was one of only two women who attended a class that built an entire house,” she said. “So it was no surprise that my first ‘real’ job was working in the commercial construction field, specializing in painting and decorating.”
When she started a family, her search for work closer to home brought her to the Clearwater County Recorder’s Office. After twelve years there, the repetitiveness of the job led her to seek a new challenge. She transferred to the Assessor’s Office, beginning as the Senior Assessor Clerk, and sought her Certified Minnesota Assessor’s (CMA) license. This gave her the new opportunity to begin working as an assessor, determining estimated market values of real and personal property for property tax purposes.
“As an assessor, it is imperative to be fair and produce an equalized assessment for our taxpayers,” she stated.
When Cheryl Grover was appointed the Assessor in 2007, Jamie became her Deputy Assessor. When she accomplishes a job, she begins looking beyond what she is doing, and wanting to see what it may lead to next.
As soon as Jamie moved into the Deputy Assessor’s position, she knew what her next step would be. Her plan was to seek the assessor’s position whenever Cheryl came to the point in time to leave the office, which happened with Cheryl’s recent retirement.
While Jamie holds a degree in Business Administration, the journey to the assessor appointment required a lot of hard work and additional education. She got started on that right away, a five year endeavor for her to get the necessary certification for the position – called a SAMA, or Senior Accredited Minnesota Assessor.
The process included assessment classes through the University of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University, the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers (MAAO), and the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO).
“I was fortunate to be able to work with Don Holm, then Clearwater County Assessor; he taught me a great deal about assessing and he also encouraged me to continue working in the assessment field,” she said.
Working under Don Holm, allowed Jamie to obtain her CMA license, then move on to obtain the other licenses required in the field, which included more classes, income courses, writing an appraisal report, taking an eight hour exam, plus an oral interview with the Minnesota State Board of Assessors.
That coveted SAMA license required an additional eight hour exam and at least five years of assessment experience, which Jamie accomplished during her time as Deputy Assessor, leading her to be a viable candidate for her appointment as assessor.
And her challenges continue, as in order to maintain a valid SAMA license, which she must renew every year, she will need to take 50 Continuing Education Hours over a four-year licensing period, including an Ethics Seminar.
In addition to her work life, Jamie Freeman is a busy wife, mother, and grandmother. Her husband Dennis and she live south of Shevlin in a log home Dennis built. When not at work, they spend time on building and renovation projects, as her interest in the trades spills over into her personal life too. They are very involved with their church.
They have six children and ten grandchildren. “Our family is truly a blessing to us and we absolutely love spending time with them”.
She travels often to St. Cloud to see daughter Breanna and granddaughters Ava and Mila. Her son Colby and his wife Miranda live in western Montana, so she doesn’t get to see them as often as she would like.
“Spending time on the lake and traveling are probably on the top of our fun list. Hopefully we’ll be able to spend our winters in a warmer climate when retirement rolls around,” she said.
Jamie also serves as a member of the Clearwater County Safety Committee, involved with the Minnesota Association of Assessing Officers (MAAO) where she writes articles for the award winning magazine, Equal Eyes. As indicated by the name, it is dedicated to seeing real estate assessment with an equalized assessment approach.
Jamie says one of the biggest challenges in today’s assessment field is meeting mandated and statutory requirements that come each year with existing or shrinking human and financial resources.
“As resources shrink and mandates grow, even our essential services are stretched to the point that the use of technology and processing improvements struggle to compensate.”
“Being appointed County Assessor is probably the biggest highlight of my term at Clearwater County,” Jamie says.
“I plan to become proficient in addressing all the demands of the assessor position. I would like to see the services of the County Assessor’s Office continue to be well organized and readily available to assist the public with their needs.”
“I look forward to many years of continued service to Clearwater County. I really love working here, and I really love my job,” Jamie says. “And how many people can say that!”