Tax re-evaluation notices will be in your mailbox soon and residents are warned to be ready for a shock.
County Chairman Neal Bennett addressed citizens at the June 6 commission meeting about the upcoming notices.
“Don’t be shocked when you see (the notices),” he said.
Bennett pointed out this is the first re-valuation of property the county has done in over a decade. The last property reassessment took place in 2012.
Bennett pointed out all taxpayers will have the opportunity to file an appeal to their assessments if they desire. Information about the appeals process will be included in the assessment notification.
The commission agreed in principle to roll back the 2024 millage rate to generate the amount equal to the 2023 budget as a way to ease any potential increased financial burden on taxpayers.
What that amount will be remains to be seen.
Once the appeals process and tax digest is completed, commissioners will begin work on their 2024 bunch, likely later this summer. The budget will need to be in place by October for tax bills to go out for a December payment deadline.
Chief appraiser Bill Rozier confirmed this week that more than 12,000 assessments will be mailed to Pierce County taxpayers by the end of June.
The annual assessments are mailed each year, but the notices this year will feature the reassessed values.
Rozier stresses the “total estimated tax” on the new assessment notices are only an estimate.
Rozier referred to Bennett’s comments about the commission rolling back the 2024 millage rate to compensate for the increased assessments.
“All property owners have the right to appeal their property value,” Rozier said.
The appeal must be filed no later than 45 days from the date of the assessment notice. The assessment notice will clearly show the last day to file an appeal.
“We recommend filing appeals online through the Q-public website,” Rozier said.
The Q-public website will allow taxpayers to file an appeal from the comfort of their home anytime 24 hours a day 7 days a week. A link to this site will be available on the county website (piercecountyga.gov), or they can be filed in the tax assessor’s office, located at 312 Nichols Street, Blackshear.
The assessment notices will reflect the county-wide re-valuation that began last August and concluded earlier this month. The revaluation was done on all residential, commercial and agriculture tracts and buildings.
“I would say that it will be a mixed bag as far as the re-valuations,” says Rozier. “Some taxpayers will see the value of their property increase, while others will see a decrease.”
The county is required to conduct reassessments periodically to keep the county within 40 percent of “fair market value “as mandated by state law.
Rozier explains the county’s fair market value rate had fallen to 34 percent prior to this year’s revaluation.
“We are back up to 40 percent, and that is exactly what we are suppose to be,” Rozier says.
Counties not in compliance can have their tax digests rejected by the state and be deemed ineligible for state and federal funding. For more information or to ask questions about the assessment notices call 912-449-2025.
