by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Della Rowley, the Sumner County Appraiser for 14 years, has resigned. She submitted her resignation at the June 10 meeting of the Sumner County Commissioners.

Rowley will finish her job at the end of this week and officially end her tenure here when her term as county appraiser expires on July 10. An appraiser is contracted for four years and must be appointed by the commissioners.

Rowley has accepted the county appraiser’s job at Geary County which includes Junction City.

She listed salary as the biggest reason for her departure from the county courthouse.

“I’m making around $55,000 here,” Rowley said. “Up there I’ll have a sizable salary increase. Sumner County, a mid-level county, has very low salary for a county this size.”

Although Geary County has a population of 34,362 considerably higher than Sumner, the county has 5,000 less property parcels to deal with than here.

She estimated Sumner has 18,200 parcels to Geary with slightly over 13,000.

Rowley came to Wellington in 1999 after serving as county appraiser in Hodgeman County, north of Dodge City.

She ran an office of 10 employees here.

Finding her replacement may take longer than July 10. Sumner County Commissioner Cliff Bales said there are currently 13 counties currently looking for an appraiser.

“The criteria standards for becoming a county appraiser is so high, that there is only a very small group of people to choose from,” Bales said.

The job opening is currently being advertised in a county appraiser trade publication with a July 10 deadline.

The county office will be run by a designated employee until a full-time replacement is found.