Significantly Higher Tax Bills Sent by Lanier BOC to Property Owners for 2024 Tax Year: Why? What to do!
By Carol A. Gasser Moore
LANIER COUNTY, Georgia – By the end of last week Lanier County property owners received a tax bill that they were not expecting. It read as follows:
“The amount of your ad valorem tax bill for the year shown [2024] above will be based on the Appraised (100%) and Assessed (40%) values specified in BOX ‘B’ of this notice. You have the right to submit an appeal regarding this assessment to the County Board of Tax Assessors. If you wish to file an appeal, you must do so in writing no later than 45 days after the date of this notice [5/24/2024]. If you do not file an appeal by this date, your right to file an appeal will be lost. Appeal forms which may be used are available at http://dor.georgia.gov/documents/property-tax-appeal-assessment-form.”
“At the time of filing your appeal you must select one of the following appeal methods:
- County Board of Equalization (value, uniformity, denial of exemption, or taxability)
- Arbitration (value)
- County Hearing Officer (value or uniformity, on non-homestead real property or wireless personal property valued, in excess of $500,000)”
“All documents and records used to determine the current value are available upon request. For further information regarding this assessment and filing an appeal, you may contact the county Board of Tax Assessors which is located at 56 W. Main Street Suite 2 Lakeland, GA 31635 and which may be contacted by telephone at: (229) 482-2090. Your staff contacts are J[e]ssica Holbrook and Nachelle Suggs.”
“Additional information on the appeal process may be obtained at http://dor.georgia.gov/property-tax-real-and-personal-property”
The Lanier County News (LCN) typed out the whole of the notifications Section A, because the Lanier County Board of Assessors wrote the entire notification in the smallest font size available (point 8) instead of the more standard use of font size 12. Not only did the notification’s composer make the notification very difficult for even non-eyeglass-wearing citizens to read, but they clearly put the notification extremely hastily as the Chief Appraiser Jessica Holbrook’s name was actually spelled “Jssica”!
Please be sure to pay attention to the linked information below:
LANIER COUNTY PROPERTY OWNERS … You have until July 8 to file an appeal on the new tax assessment amount. You can get the form at the following link from the State of Georgia:
Form – County Property Tax Appeal Request Form PT- 311A_Appeal_of_Assessment_Form
Additional information:
https://dor.georgia.gov/pt-311a-appeal-assessment-form
file:///E:/Users/HP-Z210/Downloads/PT-311A_Appeal_of_Assessment_Form.pdf
https://dor.georgia.gov/documents/forms/type/property-tax
The connecting information to this notification is that it follows a recent governmental action:
On March 28th both national and state news media outlets reported that Georgia lawmakers approved a package of legislation intended to limit property tax increases. The approved included a state constitutional amendment that requires voter approval in a November referendum before it can take effect.
The plan that limits property tax increases actually limits raising a home’s value, as assessed for property tax purposes. As the LCN understands the provisions, rate increases would be held to the rate of inflation each year. There is one exception built into the plan which states something like a city or county government or local school board could use a one-time escape hatch to opt out in early 2025.
The Lanier County News suggests that property owners should not only file an appeal but also contact both their state and U.S. Congressional representatives and express concern. You can contact them as follows:
- State Representative James Burchett –
- https://directory.doas.ga.gov/Employee/Details/9469
- State Senator Russ Goodman
- https://www.senate.ga.gov/SENATORS/en-US/member.aspx?Member=4977&Session=
- S. Representative Austin Scott
- https://austinscott.house.gov/contact-austin
- S. Senator Raphael Warnock
- https://www.warnock.senate.gov/contact/
The fact is that Lanier County Board of Commissioners appears to need funding for two major projects which were never funded BEFORE they were started.
One is the new ballfield on Burnt Church Road at South Oak Street. When the LCN has requested information about the ballpark’s funding, what should be available under Open Records – the request is ignored. Why?
The second is the renovation of the Old Primary School to prepare to move from the Old Courthouse into a facility that has both the space for county offices AND the parking together in one spot.
LINK TO GDR COUNTY APPEAL FORM:
https://www.laniercountynewsonline.com/2024/06/06/gdr-form-county-…eal-request-form/
Return to the Lanier County Tax Assessor:
Jessica Holbrook
Chief Appraiser
56 W Main Street, Suite 2
Lakeland, GA 31635
Phone: 229-482-2090
Fax: 229-482-2105
click here to e-mail our office
I feel like I have been robbed. My house was assessed at outrageous amount and my property taxes doubled in cost from 2000 a year to 4000 you are trying to sneak this in before Ga bill 349 is approved you should all be ashamed of yourselves. I’ve contacted Governor Kemp and Rep Scott to help the citizens of this County from this injustice. I check the increase to other Counties we are about the same as Atlanta and we’re the smallest county in Ga. Shame on y’all.