Toby Reese

Sr. Vice President, Communications Group

Toby earned his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Central Arkansas and his Bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from Hendrix College. After receiving his MBA in 1989, he joined the Tax Division of the Arkansas Public Service Commission as the Division’s Financial Analyst. In this role, Toby was an integral part of the Division’s assessment of utility and carrier property. In 1996, he transitioned to the Commission’s Regulatory Division and served as a Public Utility Analyst, focusing on utility financing and rate cases. Toby re-joined the Commission’s Tax Division in 1997 when he was appointed as the Division’s Director. In his role of Tax Division Director, Toby was responsible for the central assessment of all utilities and carriers operating in Arkansas, and for providing assistance to the state’s Legislature and Governor’s Office in matters concerning utility and carrier taxation.

Toby joined the Utilities Division of Rash & Associates in June of 2000, and now oversees the company’s Communications Group, which focuses on the property taxation of traditional local and long distance carriers, fiber carriers, competitive local exchange carriers, wireless communication providers, telephone cooperatives, and cable television systems. He also provides support to the company’s Energy and Transportation Group. In his role at Rash & Associates, Toby represents communication companies before state tax commissions and local boards of review and equalization throughout the country, and manages a professional staff specializing in compliance, property valuation, and property tax negotiations with local and state officials. Toby is also an integral part of the company’s consultancy work, focusing on special projects such as legislative changes, valuation impact studies, and cost of capital issues.

Toby has appeared and testified before numerous state tax commissions, local assessment boards, and legislative committees, and is a frequent guest speaker at various national and regional tax conferences. Toby is a member of the Wichita Ad Valorem Workshop Planning Committee, a past President of the Southern Association of State Property Tax Administrators, and a former Chairman of the National Conference of Unit Valuation States. In addition, he is a member of the International Association of Assessing Officers, and the Texas Association of Property Tax Professionals.