Former Mecklenburg Tax Assessor Garrett Alexander has been reassigned to the county’s finance department as a senior fiscal analyst, taking a nearly $24,000 pay cut, County Manager Harry Jones disclosed Wednesday.

After eight years, Alexander abruptly offered his resignation on Nov. 20. He’d been the target of taxpayer anger over the 2011 revaluation that led to complaints of vastly overvalued properties from thousands of property owners. An outside firm found dozens of flaws in the appraisal.

Jones said Alexander offered his resignation in a closed meeting on the condition he remain a county employee in another job.

After the county manager told commissioners he could find Alexander another position, they unanimously voted to accept Alexander’s resignation.

He formally resigned last week to former board Chair Harold Cogdell.

In his new job, Alexander is a senior fiscal analyst in the Human Services Finance Division of the county’s finance department.

At $98,500 a year, he supervises county staff responsible for processing invoices for functions in the Human Services Agency. He earned $122,395 a year in his old job.

Tuesday, county commissioners appointed longtime county executive Bobbie Shields to fill Alexander’s term, which ends June 30. At that time, the board will appoint a new tax assessor.

Other board business

• At the start of the new board’s first meeting on Tuesday, new Chair Pat Cotham told commissioners that voters had assembled a commission of firsts.

It is the first board to have four women. It is the first board to have four African-American members.

And it’s the first one to be led by a female chair and female vice chair.

“We are a very historic board,” Cotham said. “We celebrate the diversity of our city and our county.”

• Commissioners also inducted Cogdell and former board Chair Jennifer Roberts into the 40-year-old Order of the Hornet, the county’s highest honor.

During a brief ceremony, commissioners praised both for their service. In return, Roberts (who served for eight years) and Cogdell (four years) reflected about their time on the board.

Both urged commissioners to find compromise to solve county problems.

Cogdell said the board helped the county survive difficult years.

“I believe a crisis situation is one we can learn from,” Cogdell said. “It’s one we can grow from and one in which we can emerge better off than we were before.

“…There’s nothing bad about finding compromise.”