INDIANAPOLIS -- Now that Marion County voters have eliminated the jobs of eight township assessors, the consolidation process could be a tricky one, county officials said.

Despite the effort to streamline, County Assessor Greg Bowes admits that he will have to hire most of the townships' staff and perhaps some of the assessors to wade through a backlog of 20,000 property tax appeals, 6News' Rick Hightower reported.

The office is also more than a year behind in creating property tax assessments. Because of that, Bowes said that taxpayers won't likely see any savings in the first year of the changeover.

"I'm hoping all of us will be committed to try and make the transition as seamless and invisible to the taxpayer as we can," Bowes said.

The positions of the eight township assessors are protected under law, so they will continue receiving a paycheck until the end of their terms, which, in most cases, is two more years.

However, their staff members, like the 12 people who work for Franklin Township Assessor Becky Williams, will be out of a job.

"I've got a very good staff. I believe most are interested in keeping their jobs," Williams said. "They're going to have to turn in resumes and reapply to keep their positions."

Township assessors will continue to handle property tax issues until the end of the year.