Crystal Forster is seeking the Hockley County Tax Assessor-Collector position in the 2024 March Primary Election.
Forster and her family have been residents of Hockley County since 2017. That same year, Forster married her husband Anthony Forster who is currently employed by Forster Construction. Originally residing in Smyer, the Forster family made their way to Levelland in 2020.
Forster has three children and five grandchildren. Her middle son Calvin, is serving in the Air Force and is currently stationed in Arkansas with his wife and three children. Her youngest son Preston, is a senior at Smyer High School and has plans to attend Texas Tech University.
With 17 years of tax office experience, Forster is currently employed at the Lubbock County Tax Office as a Senior Clerk. Previous to her current position, Forster worked in the Tom Green County Tax Office in San Angelo for over five years. Additionally, she also has prior banking, supervisor and cash office experience.
Throughout her working career, she has taken over 100 continuing education classes offered through the state for her job. If elected, Forster plans to continue taking classes and complete the required courses to serve as the tax assessor-collector prior to taking the position in January.
“If elected I plan to have all the required courses of the position completed prior taking office,” explained Forster. “I want to take care of the necessary steps prior to entering office to ensure that I am in the best situation.”
Forster added that her love for the community and experience aided her in making the decision to file her candidacy for the position. She feels that her years of experience would be a great asset to the office.
“I love this area, this is my home and I would love to be closer. Talking with my husband and family, they fully supported my decision to file and have been in my corner,” said Forster. “I feel that I have a lot of knowledge from my years of experience and even my supervisors and team leaders come to me for clarification or assistance at times.”
In one of the more unorthodox positions to campaign for, Forster explained that talking with constituents within the county some were unaware the tax assessor-collector was an elected position.
“In talking with county community members, they have shared instances with me about not being helped or not having answers when they visit the county tax office,” said Forster. “Even at the office in Lubbock, we have received individuals from Hockley County coming to us to find answers they could not get in Levelland.”
Talking with community members, Forster has shared that her desire is to train the staff in the Hockley County Tax Office in all areas to ensure individuals needs are met when they walk through the doors seeking assistance.
“The tax office is not a place everyone is excited to go,” explained Forster. “I would like to cross train the staff in motor vehicles and property tax to create an environment that can assist anyone and everyone who has issues or concerns in those fields.”
Forster added that there are resources for staff to find answers but she has the feeling that they are not being trained to utilize those resources to answer questions that are asked.
“I do not want Hockley County community members to be sent somewhere else to seek answers because we cannot answer them properly,” said Forster. “We need to be in the position to solve their questions and problems here. Customer service is something I prioritize and is one of my main concerns.”
Forster added that she fully believes in a well trained and friendly office to conduct business.
“I want community members to know that I will do my best for anybody and everybody,” said Forster. “If they are having trouble, I want them to know they can seek me out personally and I will do my best to assist those with whatever problem they have.”