Gilmer Tax Assessors Looking to Privatize

The Assessor’s office has seen a storm of change lately. The changes began in May, when Chief Tax Assessor Dawn Pruitt was relieved of her position. After Pruitt, Stan King was promoted from Assistant Chief Appraiser with no pay increase, but was in the position only a month before leaving in June to seek other opportunities. Now Richard Lamb is filling the position as Interim Tax Assessor. Tax Assessor Chairman Jeff Holloway said that the board is still taking application for a permanent chief assessor, but will continue to evaluate Lamb and will later decide how long to extend his service beyond the 90 days, if needed. But is the chief assessor position permanent? Or will the county explore other options? One option the county is currently exploring is outsourcing its services.
At last week’s Tax Assessors Meeting, the board heard a presentation from Technical Appraisal Services of Georgia Inc. (TAS), an appraisal company specializing in mass appraisals. Originally from Mississippi, TAS has completed over 40 revaluations in Georgia since 1990. TAS President Melzar Kye and Technical Project Manager Alan Hornaday explained the history of the company and encouraged the board to contact the company’s previous clients for references. According to Kye, if the proposal is accepted, the revaluations would not begin until May 2012 and cost $709,000 over a period of three years. But, for Holloway, this timeframe is unacceptable. Following the presentation, Holloway noted that a previous proposal from a different company stated that company would begin within two months, where as TAS’ project would not begin until next May. “We’re expected to deliver a digest next year; we don’t get a year off,” he said. To further explore the outsourcing option, the board agreed to create a sub-committee to analyze the proposal and the county’s appraisal needs. The committee will consist of Chairman Jeff Holloway and board member Tom Porter. Interim Assessor Richard Lamb will also be part of the committee.

In June, Traylor Business Services also gave a presentation to the board. According to its proposal, after revaluation Traylor boasts to generate $455,397 for Gilmer County. With the county in such financial straits, the proposal seems attractive. But, a question remains: from where will Traylor generate this revenue? Traylor’s proposal states that the money will come from auditing personal property three years prior. What does this mean? This means that Traylor thinks that the county did not initially collect enough taxes on personal property. So, Traylor will re-assess or re-appraise personal property that has previously been appraised and taxes already paid for the past three years. Personal property would technically be taxed twice. Traylor estimates that Gilmer County has 40 percent of uncollected revenue sitting idle in personal property. The justification for generating this additional “revenue” is that the county did not initially appraise the property at its proper value. Also included in Traylor’s $455,397 reassessment is an “estimated late penalty” to the tune of $41,400. Now, business tax dollars are typically generated from profits. However, in a county where fewer people are moving into the county, where unemployment hovers in the double digits, and where profits are declining and more and more businesses are closing its doors, taxing profits becomes nearly impossible. So, in this atmosphere where can the county find revenue? Enter Traylor Business Services, Inc., TAS and like companies, which reassess previously taxed personal property to generate revenue. So, considering all this, the question is: how much more can taxpayers give to balance the county’s budget? The answer, of course, remains to be seen.

The next Board of Assessor’s meeting will be held September 15th at the courthouse at 5 P.M., where the public can expect to hear more details about the future of Gilmer County’s tax services.