Skagit County’s assessor may not retire on June 30 after all, as he had indicated six weeks ago in a letter to county commissioners.

Assessor Mark Leander said Thursday he wants to oversee a major update of the office’s computer system and that this was “something I’ve been considering all along.”

The new system won’t be online until July 1, if the project stays on schedule.

Leander’s chief deputy, Wes Hagen, said if Leander delays his retirement, it would be for “a couple months,” not six months or a year. No firm date has been set.

The upgrade will enable the office staff to work more quickly and more accurately, and provide better information to the public, Hagen said.

“Getting it done successfully is important not only to us but to the county,” he said. “Typically the transition takes many months.”

Another factor could influence Leander’s decision. After receiving an opinion Thursday from the Secretary of State’s office, the county Auditor’s Office has concluded that Leander would need to resign later than June 30 if there is to be no election for the office this year.

The state opinion said the county Assessor’s Office would not be up for election until next year if Leander waited until after Aug. 17 to resign.

The Assessor’s Office would like to avoid combining the uncertainty of an election with the installation of the office’s first computer system upgrade in 20 years, Hagen said.

Leander’s resignation, offered to county commissioners in a March 24 letter, was prompted by his concerns about his health. He decided that he had not recovered well enough from his treatments for brain cancer to continue in the job. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and is reportedly cancer-free now.

The county Republican Party will forward names of three potential successors to the county commissioners for their consideration but the matter remains in limbo until Leander’s resignation date is set.

A scheduled vote of party precinct committee officers scheduled for June 11 could be postponed, party Chairman Bob Eberle said. He said he would like to hold the meeting about three weeks before Leander’s resignation goes into effect.

So far, six people have expressed interest in the assessor’s position to party officials. The party will accept nominations right up to the meeting when precinct officers vote.

Leander said he would prefer to see someone from inside the office get the appointment, specifically 12-year employee Dave Thomas, a deputy assessor.

County assessors over the last three or four decades all have risen from within the ranks of the office, but Leander said his chief deputy is not interested in the job.

Leander said he endorsed Thomas at a recent Republican dinner “because of his understanding of the data and the process.”

“There’s a lot of people expressing interest in assuming my position who really don’t have a clue,” Leander said. He declined to say which candidates fit that description.

Others who have given their names to the Republican Party are from outside the office: Joe Franett, who works in the marine industry; Mount Vernon City Councilman Joe Lindquist; former County Commissioner Don Munks; Greg Nelson, a former farmer who works in real estate; and Michael Dahle.

None of the candidates said they would overhaul the office, which has been beset by controversy over property tax assessments in recent years.

Last year, after property values in Sedro-Woolley and Concrete were increased despite a slumping housing market, residents crowded into public meetings to vent their anger, and the number of property-value appeals doubled compared to the previous year.

Candidates only said they would be inclined to improve the office’s communication with the public.

Lindquist said he would consider holding public meetings in communities that were going to get increased assessments before those assessments were mailed rather than after.

“The Skagit County Assessor’s Office ... ranks among the top county assessors offices in the state, so I think it’s more of getting an understanding from the public,” said Lindquist, who also said he would need to get a legal opinion on whether he could hold two public offices at the same time.

Thomas, the deputy assessor, agreed there was room for improvement in getting the public to understand how properties are assessed.

“I think the biggest issue is public education. That was the biggest aspect of this latest round of protests,” Thomas said. “They just don’t know how the system works.”

• Ralph Schwartz can be reached at 360-416-2138 or .