The Jones County Board of Commissioners held a work session with the county’s chief appraiser last week to clear up issues of rising property values, but it was not apparent at meeting’s end if that was accomplished.
Board Chairman Chris Weidner called the May 7 meeting to order. Commissioner John Wood began the discussion by asking Chief Appraiser Anthony George to explain the situation with 2024 property values.
George has held the position of chief appraiser since 2017 and began his remarks by stating he hoped to alleviate the commissioners’ concerns.
“I don’t want the taxpayers to think the tax assessors have their hands and their pockets,” he said.
The appraiser said he wanted to address the 2024 values that were seen by some on the county’s website. He said he sent an email to qPublic that handles the website.
“The 2024 information was not supposed to be live until May 15. Those values were not valid and unauthorized,” he said.
George said the response from qPublic was the information was unintentionally put on the website.
Weidner asked the appraiser where the figures came from. George said they came from the county’s file, but they were not finalized.
“All I can say is they were not valid,” the appraiser said.
George said ad valorem taxes were 85 percent of the county’s revenue. He said the tax assessors follow the housing market.
“We don’t create the market, and we are always working a year behind,” he explained.
George defined fair market value as the amount a knowledgeable buyer would pay for a property and a willing seller would accept. He said the county’s budget divided by the tax digest equals the millage rate.
“Tax assessors interpret what is happening in the marketplace,” he said.
The meeting went into a discussion about tax ratios and how they are computed by the Georgia Department of Revenue. George said he felt the calculation was biased.
The appraiser talked about the fluctuation of the ratios from 2019-22 and the volatility of the housing market. He called 2022 a unicorn year.
“No one predicted the prices people would pay for houses in Georgia,” he said.
George said the price per square foot of houses in Jones County were $110 but according to the market should be $148. He said they are going to have to raise the ratio across the board.
“We have to follow the market; it’s mandated,” he said.
The appraiser said, if tax assessors do nothing, the values will fall behind. He said they want to gradually increase the values over several years. Otherwise, people could be taxed out of their homes.
“Our staff and the Board of Appraisers are good at what they do,” he said.
George said the department lost two tax appraisers in 2022 who had 35 years of experience. He said they were lucky to find an experienced appraiser to fill one position, but another is needed.
He pointed out that he is one of three chief appraisers in the state with designations from both the IAAO and GAAO.
George said there are two types of property value increases; one is for new property and the other for improved property.
But the appraiser noted that the tax assessors do not raise taxes.
“The Board of Commissioners always have the final say,” George said.
He said tax assessors are mandated to keep up with property assessments, and they have no choice when the market goes up. The appraiser said the question for the property owner is what would they sell their property for?
He said the state department of revenue would be auditing Jones County in the next few months. The state mandates the audit reviews every three years.
The appraiser said the county’s review three years ago showed the assessors were following procedure and assessing the county uniformly overall.
“The bottom line is we are doing our jobs,” he said.
Commissioners’ questions
Commissioner Daylon Martin said the numbers do not make sense and asked how 50 percent of the counties in Georgia are in the same boat.
“Values are all over the place, depending on what neighborhood you live in,” he said.
George said what is supposed to happen is the high and low sales thrown out and the ratio calculated on median sales. He said changing the square foot value should move the county in the right direction.
Commissioner Sam Kitchens said they know the 2022 review was flawed. He asked how a huge jump would be justified.
George said it will not be a huge jump. He said some subdivisions had not been revalued in a while.
“I believe reasonable increases will get us going toward market values, and a rollback will help offset the increases,” he said.
The appraiser said all they can do is follow what the Department of Audits and Accounts said needs to be done. He said they are talking about reasonable increases, not where they could have gone.
Weidner said a peer review by the state would show if the county was doing something wrong.
George said he could not say because he has never been through a peer review by the Department of Revenue. He said the county will have its regular review in the next two months.
Weidner said his concern is for taxpayers.
“When they start asking questions, I want answers,” he said.
DEBBIE LURIE-SMITH/Staff
