Assessor of Property Marty Haynes said Wednesday that his office has already sent out about 30,000 notices about new property appraisals. This is "a reappraisal year," he told the County Commission.
Assessor Haynes said, “This is not a hidden tax increase. This is just a reflection of increased property values across the city. We’ve already started work on the 2025 plan.”
He said land value has increased by almost 30 percent from 2020 to 2021, and he said property value has increased overall by 25.8 percent.
Mr. Haynes told the commissioners that when the board of equalization meets in June, property owners will have a chance to appeal their values.
“In the case we have a downturn in property values in the next four years, folks have the right to appeal,” Haynes said. “They just need to bring to us information that values in their neighborhood has increased.”
“We’ll have a certified tax rate, and we have a reappraisal every four years. Whatever the increase in value for the county is, the certified tax rate will go down by that much. You have to produce the same amount of revenue from the last year.”
When asked by Commissioner Sabrena Smedley, Mr. Haynes told her his office valued properties based off sales, and said there were 7,084 sales done in 2020. Commissioner Smedley also spoke about how last year’s tornados have affected people’s property assessments.
“For the area impacted by the tornado, I’m getting calls from folks in dispute with their insurance company, and they got a property assessment where their value is higher than before the tornado,” Commissioner Smedley asked. “Can we coordinate a public meeting with the areas that have been impacted, and Commissioner Boyd may want to get in on this as well, so we can communicate information and streamline this for your office as well.
Mr. Haynes once again reiterated that taxes will not go up before ending his presentation.
“They all get a property notice of their 2021 property value, but that doesn’t mean they all go up. Most are, and it’s unprecedented. We’ve had significant value increases,” Mr. Haynes said. “The biggest thing you’ll get is “My taxes are going up” and that is not the case. This is a value increase, and the tax has to go down by a proportionate amount.”