In a break with tradition, the incumbent was not reappointed as a
Tax Assessor.
Gretchen Quarterman, the incumbent (although technically not, since
the County Commission did not do reappointments before her term expired at the end of 2024)
got a nomination and two votes.
James Michael (Mike) Tanner also got a nommination and two votes.
Commissioner Scottie Orenstein was not present for that item,
since he came in late.
That left Chairman Bill Slaughter to break the tie, and he voted for Tanner.
The previous morning,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall said he wanted to ask questions of
the applicants for 6.a. Appointment to
the Board of Tax Assessors. Chairman Bill Slaughter said they
weren’t doing that in the Work Session because both applications
were not there, but they can do it in the Regular Session Tuesday.
Mike Tanner did not attend the Regular Session.
Gretchen Quarterman was there as usual, videoing the meeting.
Finally received on February 6, 2025, the board packet materials are
on the LAKE website
for the January 27 and 28, 2025, Lowndes County Commission meetings.
At this morning’s Lowndes County Commission Work Session,
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall said he wants to ask questions of the applications for
6.a. Appointment to the Board of Tax Assessors.
Chairman Bill Slaughter said they weren’t doing that in the Work Session
because both applications were not there,
but they can do it in the Regular Session Tuesday evening.
The Chairman
asked to add an agenda item:
Consideration for discussion of opting out of new homestead exemption law. Deadline to decide and paperwork to Department of Revenue is March 1, 2025.
He noted he voted for this law, but he isn’t sure he completely understood it.
For the county consider opting out, they first need to announce that possibility
and ask the public for input.
They discussed this for almost eight minutes.
Below are links to each LAKE video of each agenda item,
with a few comments by Gretchen Quarterman,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
For discussion Monday morning and for voting Tuesday evening,
the Lowndes County Commission will consider appointments to two boards:
Tax Assessors (reappoint Gretchen Quarterman or appoint James Michael Tanner)
and Land Bank Authority (reappoint Commissioner Joyce Evans).
They will also hear a change-of-ownership beer, wine, and liquor license application,
set the special assessment rate to 9.5%,
and probably approve purchasing cards for Tax Commission Clay Guess and Probate Judge H. Burke Sherwood.
Plus they will consider $26,371.00 in cash match
while the Solicitor-General’s Office applies for $79,112.00
in federal funding related to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2025, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2025, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
Despite the longest Millage Public Hearing ever,
people are still very confused by why, how, and how much taxes are going up.
This may be partly because most Lowndes County officials (elected, appointed, or employee) are not willing to say in public how we got here.
Lowndes County Chief Appraiser Lisa Bryant did make a long presentation at the Historic Courthouse about that, but many people did not attend.
Plus there are a few further wrinkles.
For many years, the Tax Appraisers were not keeping up with valuations as they changed due to increased sale prices of comparable properties.
When the appointed Tax Assessors first came in, many of their staff (the Appraisers) left,
and the remaining staff are busily catching up.
The appointed Tax Assessors spent a great deal of time at the office
for the first year, getting this changeover started.
So valuations are going up.
This pass they got to commercial valuations, which went up.
Also, they’re applying the law about what is a business, which includes
for example that some church properties being used for non-church purposes are not exempt.
Property owners do get a letter from the Tax Assessors saying what the new valuation is and saying how the owner can appeal.
Many appeals are successful.
Some the Tax Assessors appeal to court, and some of those they win.
But remember, taxes are actually valuation (adjusted by homestead exemptions, conservation easements, LOST, etc.) times millage.
Commissioner Clay Griner tried to explain that.
Finance Director Stephanie Black showed where the money goes:
mostly to schools, Sheriff’s Department, and courts.
After her presentation, Lowndes County Chairman Bill Slaughter said that the Lowndes County Commissioners had no intent to raise the millage.
Instead, they intended to roll back the millage to a lower number.
This was already hinted
in the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission meetings:
The Board of Commissioners is required to set the millage rate for 2024. The county-wide millage for 2024 was advertised at 7.804 mills, requiring advertisement of a tax increase of 6.09% and three public hearings. The rollback millage for 2024 is 7.356 mills. The 2023 millage rate was 8.778.
So that’s a 16.2% decrease in the millage rate since last year.
Which means very few people are going to see the 20% tax increase they fear.
Really, more like 3 or 4%.
Or, as Clay Griner said about the Unincorporated tax example, 5% over two years.
In many cases, the increase is due to no valuation change in many years.
[The Georgia Department of Revenue]
is ordering McIntosh to make equitable and uniform assessments or face a $63,070 penalty.
The county must provide its Board of Assessors with the equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary to ensure that 2025 assessments can pass the state’s review, according to one of the top points in a consent order signed by the county and the state last month.
The order refers back to the 2022 tax year, when the state found deficiencies in McIntosh’s treatment of homes and public utilities and noted that the county had failed to correct prior problems.
I can’t say that the county is supplying the Lowndes County Tax Assessors all the
“equipment, personnel, supplies, transportation and software necessary”
to do their job.
The Lowndes County Commissioners, the Chamber, the Development Authority, etc., keep pushing development northwards, into agricultural and forestry areas.
I wish I could say the Tax Appraisers were no longer helping with that, but I cannot.
Also, the county could put the presentation slides on their own website.
Along with the board packets.
Finally, people are rightly distressed over having to work two jobs to make ends meet.
But the source of that problem lies way higher up, in price gouging by big corporations disguised as inflation.
Below are LAKE videos of each agenda item,
followed by a LAKE video playlist.
Investigative reporting costs money, for open records requests, copying, web hosting, gasoline, and cameras, and with sufficient funds we can pay students to do further research. You can donate to LAKE today!
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Not on the agenda at the last 2023 Regular Session of the Lowndes County Commission were two items.
Special Presentation – Hurricane Recovery was by two executives of the debris hauling company the county hired, plus Kristin Hannah of the Boys and Girls Club, which got a grant from the hauling company.
Hear
Elaine Grice,
Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
for Lowndes and Echols Counties.
CASA advocates for children who have been abused or neglected,
and who are often in foster care.
Lowndes County was one of the last to sign on to the program.
Her 10 minutes accounted for a third of the half-hour Lowndes County Commission Work Session of December 11, 2023.
They spent a bit more than a minute on
7.l. Expanding Board of Tax Assessors.
One issue, said County Manager Paige Dukes, was that with only three Assessors,
two constitutes a quorum, which limited their flexibility for meetings.
Earlier, Commissioner Clay Griner asked about appointments of Tax Assessors,
pointing out that Assessor James Puckett’s term was up;
this was in
6.b. Appointment – Lowndes County Public Facilities Authority.
Chairman Bill Slaughter said those appointments would be on a January agenda.
In the actual item about Tax Assessors, the County Manager said James Puckett would remain an Assessor until somebody was appointed to replace him, which would happen in January.
Third at more than two minutes was
8.b. Bid for Security Services at the Human Resources Building.
Commissioner Demarcus Marshall asked if armed security guards cost more,
and would being armed make a difference.
Chairman Bill Slaughter said these guards man the metal detectors
to keep people from bringing firearms in.
There was more discussion.
Only tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM (or in the following LAKE video) will you hear from
Elaine Grice,
Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)
for Lowndes and Echols Counties.
The rest of the agenda for the Lowndes County Commission is quite busy,
with appointments to two boards, expansion of the Board of Tax Assessors from 3 to 5 members, among other items.
The board packet, received in response to a LAKE open records request is
on the LAKE website.
Here is the agenda.
LOWNDES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSED AGENDA
WORK SESSION, MONDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2023, 8:30 a.m.
REGULAR SESSION, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023, 5:30 p.m.
327 N. Ashley Street – 2nd Floor
![[Collage @ LCC 28 January 2025]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-01-28--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Packet: Collage @ LCC 2025-01-27]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-01-27--lcc-packet/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 27 January 2025]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-01-27--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Tax Assessor appointment, Land Bank Appointment, Special assessment rate, VAWA, alcohol @ LCC 2025-01-27]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2025-01-27--lcc-agenda/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 15 October 2024]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/many.jpg)
![[Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Unincorporated Property Tax Example]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--unincorporated-property-tax-example.jpg)
![[Millage Calculation]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2024-10-15--lcc-millage-videos/2024-10-15--millage-calculation.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 12 December 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-12-12--lcc-regular-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage @ LCC 11 December 2023]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-12-11--lcc-work-videos/many.jpg)
![[Collage, LCC Packet, 2023-12-11]](http://www.l-a-k-e.org/govt/loco/2023-12-11--lcc-packet/many.jpg)