As Bob Pero heads north to his new role on the State Tax Commission, newly appointed Clerk/Auditor Seth Oveson sees the big shoes he will fill.
“The next five or six months will be very interesting.” he said with a smile, “There will be a pretty intensive learning curve ahead.”
Oveson was sitting in his office in the Reeves building at USU-Eastern trying to get things wrapped up before his swearing in on Wednesday during the County Commission meeting. He has only been an Internal Auditor for USU since December.
Before that he worked with Smuin, Rich & Marsing for three years. His tasks included being part of the independent audits for Carbon County. He also traveled extensively to be part of the audit team in the Uintah Basin, San Juan and many other areas that SM &J had contracts. That job has given him the experience and confidence to take on the Clerk/Auditor role. He is glad to step away from all the traveling to spend more time with his young family.
He was approached about the Clerk/Auditor position right after it was known Pero was leaving. He was hesitant at first, but after several more individuals discussed the position with him he gave it some serious consideration. His wife was a little nervous about him taking a job he would have to run for re-election to keep, but they decided it was worth the risk.
Oveson is most comfortable in the accounting end of the job. He has a Masters degree from SUU and also spent two years in Denver with the national accounting firm of Mayer, Hoffman and McCann.
He is happy to finish Pero’s existing term; election is part of the new job he is least familiar with. Fortunately he will have time to gain experience before being faced with the next big election.
He and his family are glad to be back in Price and look forward to many more years. He plans to seek re-election and hopes to still be meeting the needs of the public after 20 or 30 years when he is ready to retire.
He grew up in the Cleveland area and his wife is from Price, so when their oldest daughter was ready for school, they made the decision to move back to a small town area.
Oveson laughed about small towns and the way people fit each other into comfortable connections. He says when they ask about his wife, Melanie, and he says she is Coach Garvin’s oldest daughter, they nod their heads and smile. The family has three children, Marisa (8), Skyler (3) and Mersadie (7 mo).
The small town feel is what drew the family back to the area, but it is the potential for the County to grow and thrive that really excites him as he looks forward to the job. With the potential of some new industry and changes ahead, he feels it’s going to be an exciting time to be part of the county.
While Pero is limited in only holding one position and had to resign before being appointed to the tax commission, Oveson was able to extend a two week notice to USU. He will take on his new job while buttoning up the loose ends of the old one. He will also work as closely with his replacement as possible while taking on the new responsibilities of the Clerk/Auditor role. He hopes to wind most of his college duties up by March 1st.
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