About 60 property owners showed up at the meeting hoping to talk to the commissioners about the adjusted property appraisals they recently received.
Commissioner Chairman Alvin Long told the group because the agenda had been finalized, the commissioners could not hear their comments during the meeting, but that the board would speak to them after the meeting was over.
Long said the commissioners couldn’t answer specific questions; those would have to be directed to the tax assessors board. He explained that local governments do not set the standards for property assessment; they perform it to state standards.
Most of the citizens in attendance were concerned the higher assessments they received as a result of the recently-completed county-wide 100 percent reevaluation would mean higher property taxes. Commissioners explained this is not always the case. “Just because your values doubled does not mean your taxes are going to double,” said Commissioner Judy Bailey.
Although the county has not yet set its millage rate this year, she said the board is planning to roll it back and that this reduction would help to balance the rise in property values. “We’re committed to doing that and we’ve done it,” said Long of dropping the millage rate, pointing out that it has fallen the past three years.
Purpose of the reevaluation
The purpose of the reevaluation was twofold, Long said.
County Administrator Randy Dowling said the state froze property tax assessments beginning in Jan. 2009 and extending into 2011, but because Gordon County was in the process of a reevaluation, it is exempt until Jan. 2010. The county began the reevaluation process, carried out by McCormick and Associates, two years ago, not realizing the economy would take a downward turn, Long explained.
Long said revenues to operate the county and its school system have to come from somewhere. “This board spends 12.5 percent of your tax money. Your school system spends 80 percent,” he said.
Long also said that freezing property taxes “would have devastated the county and city school systems.” School systems “have to have X amount of dollars; it doesn’t matter what your property taxes are assessed at,” he said.
“I’m not passing the buck to the schools; they do a fantastic job,” Long added.
The second reason for a reevaluation, he said was simply to equalize the values of similar properties. When the county began putting property values online, officials began noticing discrepancies in values. “To get it equalized, this is what had to be done,” Bailey said.
She encouraged the citizens in attendance to use the county’s Web site to examine properties similar to theirs. She said properties surrounding a piece of land she owns had been equalized in value to within $300 of each other.
Commissioners encouraged citizens who think there has been a mistake on their latest appraisals to contact the tax assessor’s office. Property owners have 45 days to appeal their appraisals from the time they receive them, Bailey explained. The county has 60 days to work through the appeals before submitting property values to the state.
Another one, in a very exclusive area, has a former value of nearly 1 million, that has now dropped to 800K!?! How does that make sense? How do some get such a nice break and some not??
And yet, many of us have our fairly modest homes valuated at 20K, 30K, some even more than last year, and there is no way we could sell them at what they are even assessed at. Not even CLOSE.
I also noticed our house square footage is off by nearly 500 ft, and the size of an outdoor building is WAY off.
I am also filing an appeal, but I really doubt anyone will get much relief. That old saying "you can't fight city hall", unfortunately rings true here where the tight-knit good old boys stick together.
You are so right about everything you said. Everyone does need to file appeals on this new assessments. I was told yesterday by someone in the Tax Commissioners office that they have already recieved over 600 appeals and that number will be a lot higher by today.
I just think about people that are in my situation that are on fixed incomes and are alreay having a hard time paying our utilitiy bills let alone buying groceries.
If my property taxes go up anymore I don't know how I am going to pay them, it will take me the rest of my life to pay them by doing payments.
So everyone out there that is reading these posts, GO FILE AN APPEAL!!!!!
My neighbors assessment went down $103,600.00 however my neighbors property which is 1 acre, the same size as mine but with a house 17 years newer and over 1100 more square feet. Mine went up $30,000.00. My land alone is $13,420.00 more than my neighbors. The total assessment of my neighbors property is $22,284.00 less than mine. Equalization? To quote my husband, “We could have kept our million dollars and conducted the revaluation with darts and a blindfold. Property values might have been more equalized.”
If the commissioners will show me 1 person stupid enough to pay me what they have my property valued, I will show the commissioners 2 banks that will not loan them the money to buy it. SOme of the money that we've already paid in property taxes should go to purchase Judy Bailey a new calculator because there are many of us who's increased assessment is going to double what we have to pay. Have the commissioners forgotten the unemployment rate in Gordon County?
Everyone should be ready to pay the extra $200.00 to $300.00 for the Home Owners Tax Relief Grant the state took away.
This is with over 15 million in reserves the county has that our commissioners say is for a "rainy day". I'm sure the majority of you will agree that these new tax assessments are what I call a down pour. Appeal! Write our representative, our senator, and our governor and let them know how our county officials are treating the citizens of Gordon County.
First off, where do you get off telling someone that they are ignorant just because you don't agree with their views or opinions about certain county officals? Well from what you stated he must not have changed or messed up your property assessment.
But I noticed you only defended Mr. Long and not Walters.
As far as his property value being valued higher than others? That's wrong as well, others in his same nieghborhood is valued higher than his with about the same sq footage. Then there is another one a street over from his home that has less sq footage that is valued almost 100 thousand above his home value.
But my point is this, why did everyone else's home values change but not Long or Walters. And it doesn't matter if they live in the same area than anyone else in the county. Everybody else's changed as low as 20 thousand or higher, or 20 thousand and lower.
But another point I was making is that there have been screw ups on what someone has or don't have. I went last year to the Tax commissioners to get something that was messed up about my property and my sisters property and was told it didn't matter but when this years assessments came out apparently it did matter because not they have mine and hers properties switch. It states that her property is mine and mine is hers.
I have a nieghbor down the street that has listed on his property has having 2 pole barns and more heated sq footage when he doesn't. He went to them last year like I did to try and get this changed but all they did was raise his taxes but made no corrections to what his property has or don't have.
And so you know Anonymouse123, not everyone voted for Long or Walters. There are a lot of people that would like new blood in office.
I'm assuming with all your research that you know Mr. Long pays his fair share and that the value of his home is valued significantly above others in our community - but why criticize him for be a hard worker and having a nice home in an equally nice neighborhood. He and his wife are well-educated, highly trained people who offer a lot to our community.
I know many people who have had additions or major remodeling to their homes and they knew for 10 years or longer that their assessments were too low. They would not have dreamed of telling the assessor to increase their value - out of fear of paying higher taxes. It was and is however their duty to report such additions.
I can feel your frustration in the records being incorrect and you should pursue having that corrected, I would ask for a supervisor - there is always someone higher up.
I would suggest that if you want something done you be supportive of the system and in getting it corrected - which includes equalization as Mrs. Bailey pointed out.
I find it completely unfair of you to attempt to cast doubt on Mr. Long's character (or that of any other public official - without good reason). Alvin has been a great commissioner for Gordon County - otherwise so many would not be putting their trust in him thru re-election.
If you look closely at Whitfield County you will notice they don't even provide the property information for citizens to have access to. Before casting judgment based on a few isolated events maybe you should know all the facts.
Most of the so-called problems you refer to are just figments of ignorant people’s imagination. Gordon County has less corruption than the neighboring counties you seem to be so fond of - maybe you should consider moving there to see if the grass truly is greener.
But yet just about every person I know that lives in Gordon County their property assessments have changed either 2 to 4 times higher.
I guess since they do our assessments they can set theirs at whatever they like.
So my advice to anyone reading this post, check the Gordon County GIS and do it before the time alotted runs out or come this December you might just get stuck with paying more taxes than what you should be.
Let me tell you why. Me and my sister live next door to one another and our properties ajoin one anothers but she owns her own property and I own mine. Well according to the GIS property look up site they have our info's switch. They say that I have 2250 sq feet and her only having 992 sq ft.
Her house was built in 1986 and mine in 1998 but that is also been switched.
I had already knew that the county assessor's office had mine and my sisters properties listed wrong on the GIS mapping and have even went to the asseror's office trying to get this changed but the woman that does these maps would not change anything and furthermore I couldn't even get her to see what I was talking about.
I wonder why Gordon County is the only county I know of that is always messing up our property values and out property taxes. I know people that live in Bartow and Whitfield counties that don't have these kinds of problems, so why do we?