Loomis appointed as county auditor

Jim Loomis was appointed county auditor by District Judge, Bill Miller, and took his oath of office Thursday morning at the Cass County Justice Center in Linden.

Loomis has been the acting interim auditor since Tammy Wells retired on December 31st of last year after 39 years of service to the county. Wells had been the county auditor for the last 12 years of her tenure, and Loomis served as her first-assistant auditor since hiring with the county in 2015.

Born and raised in Sacramento, Calif., Loomis attended college at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona where he received his bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in accounting. He has held multiple positions in the public and private sectors. For the state of California, he held positions as driver’s license examiner, accountant, and auditor.

“I’ve been in private sector positions in construction and healthcare as well, as stated, the state of California, the federal government and here with local government. I have a wide background in accounting auditing experience.”

Loomis explained the terms of his appointment, “Our office is only two years to keep us more accountable. The appointment of the county auditor is done every two years to assure maximum accountability that the job is being done right.”

He went on to explain the importance of the two-year term and safeguards against outside influence.

“We’re like the watchdog agency so that we’re not involved with any other departments, we don’t have any relationships with any other person in the county, the county employees like that. We should stay out because our office, what the county auditor’s office does is we review, approve or disapprove every expenditure that any county official would have for their department. So if we have some kind of relationship with any official, it may deter from a good review, objectivity.”

Loomis wants the community to know that the door is always open.

“People are welcome to come and visit and ask questions.”

Loomis is also a published author and was a columnist for the Atlanta Citizens Journal for a year in which he wrote about health and fitness. He is a board director for the Texas Association of County Auditors. He has been a keynote speaker at annual auditor institutes for the past three years, and with his wife, Janie, manage a 501(3)c charity organization in ministry.