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Editor Becky Watts: Phone # 770-468-7583 editor(@)pikecountytimes.com
This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. The Editor can be reached at 770-468-7583 or at editor(at)PikeCountyTimes(dot)com. Pike County Times is a website for citizens to keep up with local events and stay informed about Pike County government. It began on November 13, 2006 as a watchdog on county government and has turned into an online newspaper.
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ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Tax Assessors met on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at 11 a.m. at the EMA Building located at the front of the Public Works property. Present were: Chair Jessica Rowell, Vice-Chair - Hugh McAleer, members Gary Hammock, Lyn Smith, Kristen Cudnohufsky, Chief Appraiser Greg Hobbs, Melissa Connell to take the minutes, County Attorney Rob Morton, County Manager Brandon Rogers, County Clerk Angela Blount, Tax Commissioner Donna Chapman, Commissioner James Jenkins, citizen Tim Ingram, and Becky Watts from Pike County Times.
[Note from the Editor: This meeting went MUCH better than the last one, and I am thankful to everyone who had a part in that! I have praised the staff at the Tax Assessor's Office REPEATEDLY both in AND out of the meeting for their work to get as much information online as possible so people can look at it just like with the Board of Commissioner Meetings. That is a VERY big deal. Transparency will help people understand what is going on during this annual process because most people can't come to a meeting at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. Job well done, y'all!!
Included in this paperwork online is the information from the last meeting that shows information from the Sales Tax Ratio and the Department of Revenue's Sales Tax Audit of the county which isn't good, but it is what it is. (The county will need to work from here on out ensuring that there is enough staff and vehicles for this office to do its job efficiently including being out in the field.) There is a also a list of the appeals that are ongoing, those that have been settled including waivers, etc.]
Go to the county website www.pikecoga.com and click on Resources/the three lines on top of each other, then on Meetings and Agendas, and then scroll down below the place where you can input dates and times because each meeting will be listed by date and type below it. If you download the agenda for the meeting, you can see a TON of information before the meeting.
I. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 11:05 am.
II. Approval of Agenda
• Approval of Agenda-(O.C.G.A.-50-14-1-1(e)-Staff recommends approval.
Approved. 5-0.
III. Invocation - Chief Appraiser HobbsIV. Pledge of Allegiance
V. Approval of Minutes
• Approval of September 19, 2023 Regular Re-scheduled Minutes-Summary- Staff recommends approval.
Approved 5-0.
VI. Public Comment (w/5 minute time limit per person)
Becky Watts from Pike County Times thanked them for their work to get things online.
VIII. Chief Appraiser Report
The goal was to turn the digest over to the Tax Commissioner by the end of September. They missed that goal by 3 days, but it is done. Currently, there are 540 appeals to work through. He praised his staff. He also presented a certificate of appointment to newest member Kristen Cudnohufsky. (Pictured above.)
IX. Old Business
1. Approval/Denial of postponed-Approval/Denial of Motor Vehicle Appeal(s)- TAVT Fee(s)Revisions-Staff Requests Board consideration(s): 1. Collier- 2015 Chevrolet Silverado Truck. 2. Fields-2012 Kia Soul.
1. Average price paid $15,123. Motion to go with Staff recommendation. Approved 5-0.
2. Average amount is $5,225. Motion to go with Staff recommendation. Approved 5-0.
X. New Business
1. Real Property
a. Approval/Denial of 2023 Appeal(s) with Fair Market Value Revision(s) approval(s)-Staff recommends approval(s)-See List #1..
Approved 4-0-1. Kristen abstained because of lack of knowledge on that.
b. Approval/Denial of 2023 Waiver(s) with Fair Market Value Revision(s)-Staff recommends approval(s)
Approved 4-0-1. Kristen abstained because of lack of knowledge on that.
c. Approval/Denial of (1)-2023 Non-Disclosure Application(s)- Applicant(s) have met all application(s)critera-Staff recommends approval(s).
Approved 4-0-1. Kristen abstained because of lack of knowledge on that. Discussion. Kristen. Confirmed that the non-disclosure information cannot be online. We’re voting on the acceptance of the non-disclosure. That’s under the staff.
d. Approval/Denial to release 2023 Real and Personal Property Tax Digest info to Tax Commissioner, Donna Capman-subject to pending Appeal(s) Fair Market Revision(s) to be approved by Board of Assessors-Staff recommends approval(s).
[Note from the Editor: Scroll down to the colored charts around page 65 of the information on the www.pikecoga.com page.] The new digest number is $1,067,624,717.These numbers will be turned over to the Tax Commissioner. It was $799 million last year. About $268 million more this year. Discussion. Gary. How much is new properties? Residential broken out on the sheet. Found a lot of coding errors in the past. There are about 7500 houses in Pike County so the difference is utility buildings like R6. Kristen. Question. Is there no way to pull a report of only R1? Greg. Yes. As time goes on. This is what will be done to correct this. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
2. Personal Property
a. Approval/Denial to delete account for 2023-per verification from Tax Commissioner Donna Chapman and Staff-Staff recommends action on account as listed below: 1. Delete duplicate ’23 Commercial Account#16590(BP Food/KVS Corp-’23 billed as Account#19768(Junaid Zebulon LLC). 2. Delete duplicate ’23 Commercial Account#17892(Country Gold Convenience-’23 billed as Account#19764(SBA Trading Inc.)
Kristen. Suggestion on making duplicate accounts inactive to keep the history rather than deleting. Greg. Will ask a Wingap tech about this. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
b. Approval/Denial to add new ’23 Marine Account#20471(Wood)per Houston County Assessors Office-Staff recommends approval of new ’23 Account.
Discussion. Kristen. Where did this come from? Melissa. The other county emailed that it should be on our digest and not theirs. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
c. Approval/Denial of ’23 Waiver-Aircraft Account#17929(Lee)-Staff recommends approval.
Discussion. He agreed with it and signed it. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.
Executive Session. 11:22 a.m.
Back in session at 12:07 p.m.
Motion to extend offer to new employee within budget. Accept Melissa’s resignation effective October 6.
XI. Public Comment: None
XII. Board Members Report: None
XIII.Attorney Comments: None
XIV. Approval to Adjourn
Motion to adjourn at 12:08 p.m.
(AGENDA SUBJECT TO REVISION)
[Note from the Editor: If you appreciate being able to read information from county meetings for free on Pike County Times, please make a donation to Pike County Times through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page or by check to Pike County Times at PO Box 843, Zebulon so I can justify the amount of time that I am spending away from family. It may not seem like much but sitting in a meeting and then typing it up takes a lot more time than you might imagine! Thanks for reading Pike County's only FREE newspaper.]