Whitfield County voters could approve reassessments limits

Published 5:00 pm Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Whitfield County voters could have the opportunity in November to stop double-digit percent increases in reassessments for many houses.

On Monday, the county Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 to formally request a piece of local legislation before the state legislature that would limit assessments from increasing more than 6% in any one year or 14% in any three-year period on any properties that have a homestead exemption. Board Chairman Jevin Jensen typically votes only if there is a tie.

The law would set as the base for an assessment the lowest assessed value in the years 2021-2023 for exemptions granted in 2024. After 2024, when homeowners applied for homestead, their base would be the home’s current market value the year that they applied.

After a home is sold, the purchase price would become the base.

If approved by the legislature and signed by the governor this year, the measure would be placed on the ballot in November for county voters to give final approval to or reject the measure.

“This would apply only to the county M&O (maintenance and operations) tax,” said Board of Commissioners Chairman Jevin Jensen. “The other taxing authorities would have to ask for similar legislation.”

Jensen said residential properties with homestead exemptions generate about 7.3% of county revenue, so capping assessment increases should not have much of an impact on tax revenue. He also noted that if the commissioners want to generate more revenue they could still raise property tax rates but they would not be able to rely on large increases in assessed values to provide more revenue.

Jensen said Varnell officials have already requested a similar piece of local legislation.

Dalton Mayor David Pennington said city officials have some concerns and questions about how the tax assessor’s office assesses commercial and industrial properties. He said he does not believe the City Council will take any action until those questions are resolved.

Dalton Public Schools Chief of Staff Pat Holloway said the Dalton Board of Education “does not plan to ask for local legislation regarding property assessments.”

“Our board is actively considering the various options and their ramifications, but the board has not yet made a decision on how best to proceed,” said Whitfield County Schools Superintendent Mike Ewton.

Cohutta and Tunnel Hill do not have a property tax.

Last year, preliminary assessments showed the assessed value of residential properties rose an average of 22% in Whitfield County. Commercial and industrial assessments rose an average of 15%.

The assessments are set by the county Board of Assessors. Members of that board are appointed by the Board of Commissioners but the assessors are independent of the county and have to follow rules and regulations set by the state.

In September, representatives from the Dalton and Whitfield County public school systems, the city of Dalton and Whitfield County asked the Board of Assessors to hold property assessments at their 2021 levels.

The Board of Assessors did set the assessments at 2021 levels, which required the assessor’s office to recalculate the tax digest, which delayed votes by the school boards, the county Board of Commissioners and the Dalton City Council on tax rates.