Douglas County Democratic Party opposed to ballot initiative merging two offices

The Douglas County Democratic Party is opposed to an item on the November ballot merging the Assessors and Register of Deeds’ offices.

Democratic Party Chairman Kris Pierce says they aren’t opposed to the idea of mergers, if it saves the county money without compromising services. But Pierce says there’s too little information about the merger for voters to make an informed decision.

Pierce says it’s also unclear how the merger would happen if voters approve it.

Register of Deeds Diane Battiato spoke in July against the merger of the two offices. Assessor Roger Morrissey’s office hasn’t taken a position on the ballot measure.