Dougherty County residents experience sticker shock with tax notices

ALBANY – Dougherty County has completed a comprehensive reassessment of property tax values for the first time in more than a decade, and this week the notices to property owners started landing in the mailboxes of property owners.

Judging by the reaction online, the feeling from many residents is anger, confusion and frustration. Dozens have commented on social media, and Dougherty County Commission members say they are receiving calls, texts and emails.

The volume got loud enough for Commissioner Russell Gray that he put his own response on Facebook.

“I think there’s initial outrage at seeing the magnitude of increases in valuation,” he said. “I caution everyone to understand that it is not a tax bill.”

That linking of assessment value, such as the assumption that a 50% increase in value means a 50% jump in property taxes, is one that individuals commenting online are making.

Put simply, a higher property value does not equate to a bigger tax bill, the commissioner said. The amount on those bills will depend on the tax millage rates set by the County Commission, Albany City Commission and the Dougherty County School Board.

Homeowners who have homestead exemptions also are further protected at the city and county levels because both governments opted into state legislation that will retain the 2024 base rate, keeping the values on those properties the same. Any increase in valuation would be limited to the amount of the consumer price index (CPI) for the year.

The second thing to remember is that all property owners can appeal the new valuations on properties. Higher property values mean that the millage rate, which determines the actual tax bill, can be lowered.

Taxpayers can make an appeal online by visiting https://qpublic.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?App=DoughertyCountyGA&Layer=Parcels&PageType=Search. 

They also can call (229) 431-3130 to request a form by mail or by visiting the tax office at 240 Pine Ave. Appeals must be made within 45 days of the date printed on the notice, not the date of receipt of the notice.

“We’re getting a ton of calls,” Larry Thomas, the vice chairman of the Dougherty County Board of Assessors, said. “That was expected. It’s the shock value, just realizing their property has increased in value like it has.”

There have been several partial revaluations in recent years, but the 2 1/2-year effort that culminated this year is the first comprehensive review of each of the roughly 37,000 properties in the county since 2007, he said. The COVID-19 pandemic and inflation that came afterward, for example, are just now being reflected in the property values.

“Our job as assessors is to ensure the property is valued at fair market value,” he said. “That is all we do. We do not set the millage rate.”

In some instances rates may be above the fair market value, and determining that is the purpose of the appeals process, Thomas said. Since the notices started going out, he has fielded a number of calls, and individuals usually calm down once they hear how the valuation process works.

Once the appeals process is completed, the county will set the millage rate based on the amount of the budget, Gray said.

“We can’t do it (set millage) until later in the year,” he said. “We can’t do it until all the appeals are completed, and you can imagine all the appeals that are coming in.

“There’s a lot of outrage. I hear their frustration. I’m a taxpayer, and I certainly don’t want to pay more in property taxes than the services I’m receiving. Last night, I felt compelled to put a statement out (on Facebook) encouraging everybody who feels they need to appeal to certainly do it.”

The county’s budget for Fiscal Year 2027, which began on July 1, is $104.13 million, an increase of 2% from the previous year, and that is the amount taxpayers should be billed for, Gray said. 

“We’ll set our millage rate, which in my opinion should not exceed the amount of our budget increase,” he said. “This should not be seen as a windfall.”

The increase in the budget is linked to rising costs associated with employee salaries and equipment, Commissioner Victor Edwards said.

“We have 650 employees,” he said. “You have to take it into consideration (that) employees want raises. The cost of things the county has to buy – ambulances, fire protection – people have to consider how you provide these things. The cost of providing services is getting more expensive. 

“I think, for me, the thing is if you call the ambulance, they show up at your house. When you call the police, they show up at your house. Services sometimes are not important until you need them.”

Edwards said that commissioners are getting the same kind of results, as he has a property whose value increased from $126,000 last year to $218,000 this year.

That does not mean that taxpayers’ bills will increase by an equal amount.

“We also have the opportunity to roll back some taxes,” he said.