County Assessor Adam Colby, beset by employee complaints even before taking office in January, has gone on the offensive, alleging widespread errors and inaccuracies in the assessor’s office.

“I believe these problems are multifaceted, and they’re all going to be addressed,” Colby said in an interview Thursday.

Since becoming county assessor in January, Colby said, he has uncovered numerous “human and oversight errors.” Colby and Chief Deputy Assessor Denise Harris described systemic problems affecting many property owners’ appraisals and property tax bills.

They said one error last year deleted the majority of assessed value at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, leading to an additional $182,093 tax bill this year, after officials discovered the mistake.

Colby and Harris emphasized there is no evidence any of the problems are intentional.

The assessor said changes he has made to address such errors are “100 percent” of why five employees have filed tort claims against him, Harris, the county and Commissioner Bob Main, who preceded Colby as assessor.

Nine tort claims have been filed in the past year, with the latest less than a month ago. No lawsuits have been  filed, the next step in the legal process.

Among various charges, the tort claims allege intentional harassment and retaliation; a hostile work environment; sexual harassment and stalking; and discrimination. Colby said personnel rules prevent him from responding directly to any of the allegations, but he said all stem from employee resistance to change.

Some of the changes Colby has implemented since taking office in January include keeping the office open over the noon hour and moving appraisers out of the basement so everyone would be on the same floor.

“This kind of stuff has not made me Mr. Congeniality in our office,” Colby said.

Though some of the tort claims date back to mid-2008, Colby said they reflect changes he tried to make in his previous role as chief deputy.

One problem Colby alleges is that the current computer software gives flawed information because it doesn’t accommodate four-digit zip code extensions. Earlier this week, he asked county commissioners for $900 to update the program.

The commissioners rejected the request. Commissioner Nikki Whitty was in favor, but Main voted no. Commissioner Kevin Stufflebean was not at the meeting, so Colby will petition again next week.

In June, Colby requested an audit of his department by the Oregon Department of Revenue.

“Problems exist,” Colby said. “It would be dereliction of duty on my part not to address them.”

The state will conduct its audit the last two weeks in October, reviewing the office’s procedures and programs. Derrick Gasperini, a public information officer for the state, said only one other Oregon county has requested an audit in the past five years.

Main said today he did not experience such “error problems” in the 30 years he worked in the assessor’s office.

“We had very few errors while I was there,” Main said. “We never had these kind of problems.”

Colby described his investigation of assessor’s office performance as “peeling back an onion” of past practices.

“I am going to keep working with management and staff so we can get this figured out,” Colby said. “The taxpayers need to be able to have confidence in us again.”