Attorney General’s Opinion:  “It is the duty of tax assessor’s office …”

By Carol A. Gasser Moore

LANIER COUNTY, Georgia – There are a number of published statements on the Georgia Department of Revenue’s website which speak to a county’s tax assessor’s office’s responsibility, regardless of the fact that House Bill 581 has only passed both the Georgia Assembly’s House and Senate votes, but will not appear on a Georgia voter ballot until November 2024 when the voters are set to approve or disapprove the bill.  If fully approved, House Bill 581 will go into effect in January 2025.

 

Information about the county tax assessor’s responsibilities to regularly update a county’s property tax assessment can be found on-line at: https://dor.georgia.gov/property-tax-faq-real-personal-property/.

 

The Lanier County News (LCN) would like to remind Lanier County Property Owners that ultimately the Lanier County Board of Commissioners is the overlying authority connected to what the Lanier County Tax Assessor’s Office is or is not doing.   The LCN would like to remind voters that over the last 17 (seventeen) years in which the Lanier County Tax Assessor’s Office has not reassessed property, the members of the Lanier County Board of Commissioners:

 

• Alex Lee, Chairman (multiple terms)
• Benny Ryan, District 1 (new)
• Hank Smith, District 2 (multiple terms)
• Susan Bowling, District 3 (multiple terms)
• Dennis Fender, District 4 (multiple terms)

 

have run for their elected offices on keeping taxes low.  With the recent events, it raises questions in citizen’s minds as to whether appearing to have lower taxes, or acting as if Lanier Countians need low taxes was more for being politicians running and re-running for office, or whether or not was actually violating state law with the way it has been done.  It gives rise to the question as to how well our current and mostly re-elected members of the Lanier County Board of Commissioners have actually managed our county government for its citizens, especially the dollar line?

 

As the Lanier County News understands it, the Lanier County Board of Commissioners authorized the Lanier Tax Assessors Office to hire a private firm to bring 17 (seventeen) years of no increases on over 5,000 Lanier County properties up to date, because it became a mammoth job for the office.  The cost was around $75,000.

 

Likewise, it is the understanding of the LCN that Berrien County, which has a larger number of residents, actually chose to pay the fine which was around $35,000.

 

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue:

QUESTION:

Just to further understand, there is no state law at the local level that sets guidelines on revaluation of property values (except for new construction, add-ons, zoning changes, etc.). Can the property value of an average homeowner with no changes in previous year(s) increase yearly with no basis except to increase the county revenues? How can one appeal a property revaluation with their county if there are no criteria for raising property values?

 

ANSWER:

The board of assessor’s responsibility includes annually assessing property at fair market value as of January 1. While adding new construction is part of the process, the process also involves reflecting market changes (up or down) in property values. The purpose of a revaluation is not to increase county revenue but to ensure equity and uniformity of assessment. As stated above, each year there are two types of value changes made to a county tax digest. The change may be due to inflation or a result of increases due to new or improved properties. When the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia Law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year’s new digest that last year’s millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred. If the county elects to set their millage rate higher than the rollback rate, then the law imposes certain requirements. The requirements are to hold three public hearings, place notices of the increase in the paper and issue press releases. If you received a reassessment notice for 2008, I hope that you filed your appeal timely and trust that through the appeal process you will be able to resolve this matter. If your property was not reassessed for 2008 and you feel the current assessed value on your property is higher than fair market value, you may wish to file a real property return between January 1 and the close of the return book in your county (March 1 or April 1) in 2009. Declare your estimate of the property value on this return which will be reviewed by the board of assessors. If the assessors do not accept your return value you will be sent a change of assessment notice in the spring of 2009 and can file appeal at that time and follow the administrative appeal process set out in 48-5-311. Please check with your county to find out the deadline for filing the return.

 

 

Property Tax FAQ – Real & Personal Property | Department of Revenue (georgia.gov)

Under Georgia law, all property is to be returned and assessed at fair market value every year (O.C.G.A. 48-5-6). Counties are required to establish a value as of January 1 of each year which meets the definition of fair market value’ pursuant to O.C.G.A. 48-5-2. There is not a state mandated revaluation schedule, rather the counties annually review the values on the digest compared to sales data. If property values are determined to be either too low or too high then values are updated. The frequency of property updates can vary from county to county since some counties are experiencing tremendous growth and the real estate market in other counties is more static

Can the property value of a home increase yearly even if no additions or changes have occurred on the property?

Substantive Regulations: Rule 560-11-2-.56. General. (a) County boards of tax assessors are required by the State Constitution and state law to continuously maintain assessments of property that are reasonably uniform and that are based on fair market value as defined in § 48-5-2 (except as otherwise stated in § 48-5-6 and § 48-5-7(c.3)). The Department is required by law to periodically review the county digests to determine if the digests are in compliance with such laws.

 

Opinions of the Attorney General

Duty of county tax assessors to periodically update property valuations. —

If the fair market value of property increases every two years, then it is the duty of the county tax assessors to increase the valuation of property for tax purposes every two years. 1969 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 69-504.

 

The purpose of a revaluation is to ensure equity and uniformity of assessment.

 

Property Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights | Department of Revenue (georgia.gov)

REMINDER:  Property tax appeals are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, July 8.