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Branning, Caldwell sworn-in to county offices

By CJ HADDAD - | Jan 7, 2021

Matt Caldwell

New Constitutional Officers were sworn-in last week in Lee County.

Last Tuesday, Noelle Branning stepped into office as the new Lee County Tax Collector while Matt Caldwell took the helm of Lee County Property Appraiser. The two take over for Larry Hart and Ken Wilkinson, respectively, who retired.

“In the time that I spent working with Larry, I learned so much about leadership development and really how to strengthen an organizational culture,” Branning said.

Caldwell will serve as the first successor of Wilkinson, who held his position for four decades.

“It certainly is an honor to have this opportunity to serve the citizens of Lee County,” Caldwell said in an interview. “My predecessor, Ken Wilkinson, set a high bar, and his 40 years in this office he made clear the job of the property appraiser is to be an advocate for the taxpayer. He did that both locally and in his statewide work. I’m just excited to have the chance to try to continue that legacy and work in that same capacity for Lee County.”

Noelle Branning

He said he looks forward to collaborating with Branning as their work starts for the residents of the county.

“I think she’s got the background and experience being the Deputy Tax Collector for several years now,” Caldwell said. “She can easily step into that role. And it does require that these two offices work in concert. Having our two offices being on the same page is critical to make sure the constituents find that service to be seamless.”

Branning said, “A lot of people don’t realize the close relationship between the Tax Collector and Property Appraiser. I’m excited to work side-by-side with Matt as we look to make Lee County a better place to live and work. I am so excited for the opportunity to collaborate with Matt and find ways to streamline things for our customers.”

Branning served as Chief Deputy Tax Collector under Hart since 2018 and in 2013, joined the Lee County Tax Collector as general counsel. She said she hopes to continue to build bonds with local business.

“We have a goal this year to really interact with our business community through local chambers of commerce for education purposes,” Branning said. “We want to share information and to touch base with people on a personal level to (make sure) they understand our services and to get feedback to see what they want and need so that we can be better.”

Branning is a Florida State University graduate and received her law degree from St. Thomas University in Miami in 2004. She first worked in Southwest Florida with the State Attorney’s Office of the 20th Judicial Circuit and then focused her legal career on handling criminal defense and family law matters.

According to her bio, Branning has received leadership certifications from the Florida Tax Collectors Association and the Florida Sterling Council. She currently serves on the board of directors for Children’s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida and United Way where she is also a 2020 Pacesetter Campaign co-chair.

In her role as Chief Deputy Tax Collector, she has focused on operational effectiveness, leadership development and organizational culture.

One area Branning said was a focus for her and Hart that will continue under her tenure is working on ways to correct deficiencies and streamline services.

“We’re in the middle of strategic planning right one and one of our main focus areas is really consistency within our processes for our customers so that you have a similar experience — or the same experience — at every single one of our office locations,” Branning said.

The swearing-in ceremony was a bit sweeter for Branning, as her husband and 20th Judicial Circuit Judge Robert Branning swore her in with their children present.

“I was just overcome with joy and gratefulness,” Branning said. “To have him participate in that capacity for me — it was a special day for us.”

Caldwell, 38, is a life-long Lee County resident and property appraiser at Maxwell, Hendry, & Simmons Property Appraiser and partner at TM Strategic Consulting.

Caldwell began in the appraisal industry in 2002 and joined the Maxwell, Hendry, & Simmons firm in 2004. He is experienced in multiple property types, as well as litigation related services, being qualified as an expert witness in multiple jurisdictions.

Caldwell was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010-2018, serving on several committees, including tax policy, redistricting, insurance and banking. He also chaired subcommittees and full committees related to agriculture, natural and public lands, transportation and infrastructure, local, federal, military affairs, and oversight of government operations, such as pensions and elections.

“I certainly think my eight years in the Legislature as well as my professional background as a real estate appraiser, together give me a great head start over most of my peers when it comes to following that pathway of advocating for property tax reform at the state level, but also making sure the service here at the local level is of the highest quality it can be in terms of getting it right as often as we can.”

Caldwell said under Wilkinson’s watch, the office has been the “gold standard across the state and nation” and he hopes to take that legacy and build upon it.

This fall, Caldwell worked part-time at the property appraiser office prior to his swearing in to make the transition smoother. He said he learned a lot from Wilkinson and hopes to implement some gained strategies while designing his vision for the future.

“There’s a lot of new and innovative technologies coming online that will give us the ability to do the job faster, better and more efficiently, and provide easer access to information to the public, which is ultimately my highest priority — that they’re able to see clearly what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Caldwell said.

Branning also spoke to the direction of technology going forward, taking things learned from the current pandemic, and how the office will work to be more accessible than ever virtually.

“We’re really trying to target how to make virtual transactions easier, and how we can get out into the community,” Branning said.

There are currently three kiosks at three tax collector locations. Branning said this spring they hope to have those kiosks available for use at select Publix locations.

“We’re trying to get to the customers,” Branning said. “How can reach them versus them having to come to us?

“We ideally want to be innovative and leverage technology to the point where there’s far fewer reasons to come into our office that exist today. And that’s going to be collaborating with state agencies to see how we can get there together.”

– Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj