County Commissioner's Office

County Talk
By
Lamar Paris - Commissioner

Q.  Was the 2006 property assessment “aggressive and excessive?”
A.  Most people do not fully understand the assessment process and try to blame the county commissioner, who has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the assessment process. 

The reassessment in 2006 was not “aggressive”, but was necessary to update property values compared to property sales through out the county.  Georgia Department of Revenue fined Union County nearly $ 50,000 because our assessments were too low and the fine would have increased more each year.  Since some properties had not been reappraised in several years, and the sales prices of property had increased so dramatically in the past five years, some owners did receive large increases.  Again, this was not anyone’s fault, but simply a result of good economic conditions and high sales prices in the marketplace.  Again, State law dictates that the county commissioner has no responsibility or control of the assessment process.

Q. Did the State Revenue Dept. consider our 2006 county wide reassessment as “Excessive”?
A.  No, they did not consider the assessments “excessive” and concluded that the county tax digest (value of all property) was in compliance and the county would not receive any additional fines or penalties for noncompliance of properly appraised values. While some people certainly felt like their property values increased too much, it was all done by the Assessor’s office according to the requirements of State law, and everyone was given the opportunity to appeal their property values.   

Q. Was there a problem with the 2006 property assessment and does it need to be fixed?
A.  The State determined that there was no problem, and therefore, there is nothing to fix.  The Assessor’s office was simply following State law. State law further dictates that the county commissioner has no responsibility or control of the assessment process.

The Legislature is considering changing the State law and if so, maybe that will help in the future.  Personally, I am in support of some type of assessment cap to help prevent large jumps in assessed value, but the legislation controlling this did not pass the legislature this year. We will have to see if the legislature makes any changes next year.

Q. Can a commissioner change the property assessment values when he gets in office?
A. Absolutely not!!  State law prevents the commissioner’s office from having any involvement with the property tax assessment process.

Q.  Can the assessment process be changed and the millage?
A.  Your property assessment (value) has absolutely nothing to do with how much money the county will need to operate (budget).  If the county budget is $14,000,000, then that is the amount of money the county must have to operate on, regardless of property assessments.  The millage rate is calculated and set to bring in the amount of money necessary to fund the county’s approved budget   We currently have one of the lowest millage rates in the State of Georgia, because I diligently control the budget, which is the only part of your property tax bill that any commissioner can control.

Q.  If the county raises our property values when prices are going up, why are they not lowering them when the economy is bad like it is now?
A.  First of all, the county does not raise or lower your property values.  The Property Appraisal office does that, without input from the county commissioner.  According to their office, if the economy remains this slow into next year, you will probably see some adjustments downward in the appraised value of your property.  However, as of January 1st of this year, home and land sales reported, while fewer than normal, were still in excess of the 2006 reassessment values for those properties.

Q. If the property values decrease, will our taxes decrease?
A. If the county budget does not increase, your property taxes would remain about the same. Again, your property taxes are based on the budget needs of the county, not the assessment. The assessment only determines how much you pay relative to the other taxpayers. It is really the only fair way to determine who pays what amount.

Q.  If I am still confused and have any questions, where can I go to get the answers?
A. If you still have any questions, just send me an email at unioncounty@uniongov.com or write me at 114 Courthouse St, or call 706-439-6000.  If I can not answer your question, I will refer you to the Property Assessor’s office and they will answer any questions you have on property assessment.

Q. How would one go about exempting senior citizens from paying school taxes?
A.  First, you have to have the cooperation of The School System, which is very unlikely.  Second, you must have both the state Representative and Senator agree to make the changes and introduce legislation, which usually does not happen without the support of the affected party, The School System.  Third, it has to pass a vote of the State Legislature.  Fourth, it has to be signed by the Governor, and finally, it must be put on the ballot for a local vote, where it may or may not pass.

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