Jevin Jensen, chairman of the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners, was critical of the new assessments set by the Board of Assessors.
He said, "It is very disappointing the Board of Assessors chose a 22 percent countywide increase of residential property values since inflation is at a 40-year high.
Housing prices have spiked but are likely to ease over time as interest rates rise and the likelihood of a recession increases.
"The Board of Assessors operates independently of the County Commission, so the only way commissioners can help taxpayers today is to roll back the millage rate to reduce or eliminate the impact on people's pocketbooks. We fully intend to do that in August.
"Unfortunately, with the smaller 15 percent commercial and industrial increase and a wide range of individual residential property value increases, the rollback will not completely eliminate the impact for everyone. The Commissioners are actively working on a better long-term solution to present to the voters very soon. We regret the impact on working families and seniors and are determined to protect against these increases in the future."
"As the chief property appraiser pointed out during the last commission meeting, all citizens have the right to appeal their appraisals in person or online. I encourage every property owner to learn the details of your increase since both your land and your home values are evaluated separately."