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ZEBULON - The Pike County Board of Tax Assessors met on August 11, 2026. Board members present were Brent Davis, Parrish Swift, and Lyn Smith along with Appraisers Emily Morris and Danyeal Smithey, and County Attorney/Manager Rob Morton.
[Note from the Editor: Part 1 and 2 of this meeting can be watched on the Pike County Times GA YouTube channel.]
Call to Order
Approval of the Agenda
Need to amend the agenda to add: Invited Guest: Jason Leatherman, add items E Smith, F Henley, G Harrison. Motion to approve the agenda with amendments. Approved.
Motion to approve of the July 14, 2026 minutes.
Public Comment
David Paulson. Said that the new appraiser is making 14.7% more than the old appraiser. With taxes, etc. adding about 15% from the start. Said that they had someone who would work it for the old amount, and Norman Appraisals is doing their jobs well. He was concerned with bringing in someone with less work and going to pay them more. Concerned that giving away taxpayer money. Could you explain why you would do this.
Brent Davis. This is the going rate for the Chief Appraiser. Once the consent order is met, then the office should handle everything going forward. Swift. Norman Appraisals’ contract ends at the end of the year. Smith. We don’t have a walk around plan, and she doesn’t believe in that so that needs to be looked at. [Note from the Editor: Not having a boots on the ground approach with everything being accessed in person every three years is what got the county into trouble with the Department of Revenue in the first place. I don’t have anything on the record from what prompted Smith’s comment, but the Board of Tax Assessors directs the Tax Assessor Office on how things need to be done. If there is a problem, I expect that to be handled immediately by the Board and the office come up with a walk around for the entire county every three years like we are required to do by the State.]
Paulson. Saw Hobbs go before the Board of Equalization, but said that Norman Appraisals does a much better job with preparation. Also concerned that everyone in the office is going to be wanting more money.
Davis. The other person asked for $65,000 to $75,000. Our plan is to get the office in order. Asked for the salary study that was done several years ago. Christopher Tea did this. Asked Rob Morton to get this. Said you’re judging the new Chief Appraiser before she even starts the job. Swift. Hobbs was underpaid because of politics. We have every intent to bring up the rest of the salaries in the office to where they need to be. The taxpayers hold us accountable, and we’re trying to be proactive based on where we are.
Joe Norman. Said that he knew a 25 year Appraiser who was paid $60,000 when he left and then that county hired someone new at $80,000. Everything is expensive these days.
Normal Appraisals. Gave a list of appeals to the Board. Name, address, and suggested rate adjustment for each. These have already been visited. Need an ok on the 30 Day Notice. Smith. Did y’all approve the drops here? Joe Norman. Yes. Can email the changes like grades, square footage, etc. Still visiting those with no pictures so new properties to us. Landlocked properties had to be changed too. About 7 that are more than 20% drop in the amount. Anything more than 20% had to be approved by the Board. Commercial appeals. Working in map and parcel order now. Will have another 200 ready to go for the next meeting.
Overrides. I beg y’all to hold off on these until next year. You can adjust the land next year except for the 2 acres that a house is on. This would include 45 day notices and would cause problems. Most are land issues that went to the Board of Equalization years ago. There was a spot on Wingap that was checked and has caused problems. $1,000 an acre. It’s going to cause some issues because there are 200 of these.
Are other counties having the same issue? There was an override button that made this an issue that accumulated over the years. Doesn’t think that one more year is going to be an issue, but it has to be done next year. We tracked them down though. Some of these overrides have been on there 20 years. Tried to run a report but couldn’t run a report. Hobbs got a report run for non-CUVA and thought they had them taken care of, but there were more overrides that had to be tracked down.
Accessibility and desirability are drops from the new value and not last year’s value. These had to be adjusted too.
Davis. Once the properties are sold and resurveyed, the lot sizes are changing because of new surveys. Smith. Just big properties. Large tracts in CUVA have been an issue.
Motion to follow the recommendation of Joe Norman to postpone the land overrides until the complete review has been accomplished. Approved.
Status on the sales ratio? 38.5% here. Audit department at the Department of Revenue will give their determination on the ratio payment. Can appeal the audit ratio. Let’s find out who the rep at the DOR is and see if this will benefit the county to file an appeal. The ratio can be like 10 rural sales equaling out against 50 house sales. Need to find out if the county is out from under the Consent Order. The appeal date is August 28.
Morton. 36% is an acceptable amount. 38% or higher will bring in 40% but anything under 38% is at the amount that we have above 36% for public utility payments. Board of Assessors can file this appeal. Davis. Wants Christopher Tea’s input on this. It was noted that there may be another Special Called Meeting because of this.
Joe Norman. Will try to start meeting with them if they still have an issue after they meet with Tom Norman on their property about their assessments.
Swift. Have y’all seen a difference since our Chief Appraiser is gone? Joe Norman. We are doing our own thing. Thankfully Emily and Danyeal are in there working with us in the office.
Tax Commissioner Donna Chapman. September 1 is the deadline for submission of the digest. If we’re late, we may not get that money back from the State of Georgia. There is only so much money. There was extra last time, but there are no guarantees.
Recess while Davis stepped out because there are only 3 members present. Back to work.
Smith. If the new Chief Appraiser gets here on the August 31, can we file this? Chapman. Have to set the millage rate first. Mid-September to late September because it has to be advertised and go before the commissioners. Have to have the millage rate to set the digest. Morton. We can allow GMAS to transmit the data for us. Motion at last meeting to transfer the data to the Tax Commissioner so Chapman used her resources to get things rolling. Discussion on whether to wait for Chief Appraiser or authorize 3rd party. Motion to authorize 3rd party to assist the Tax Commissioner on this. 2nd and Discussion. Smith. Norman just said that he has a lot of appeals. Chapman. These appeals will come as work orders. A final bill will go out later. Morton. 1.63%. Because we are below the State requirement, we can send this to the State even though there are appeals. Approved.
Motion for Norman and Associates to send out 30 Day Notices including the 7 properties that are over the 20%. Approved.
Invited Guest. Jason Leatherman. Bought a property in October 2024 next to Middle Georgia Fleet on Hwy 19. The property value went up $30,000, and he missed the appeal date last year. Sale comparisons and similar properties show that this is drastically overvalued. Why not use the sales price from 15 months prior. Has comparable list with $50,000 an acre at $68 dollars a foot rather than $34 a foot. Had been talking to Hobbs about this, but he’s worried about this now that Hobbs is gone. Went in and talked to Emily about this. Also said that he had not received some of the assessments because they were going to a wrong address. $400,000 even was the selling price. And $472,943 is what the county is showing. Not disputing the $50,000 an acre of commercial property. 3,285 feet. Land price at $107,000 per acre. Building $223,765. Total $437,000 for 2025. Went up even more than that this year. Listed and sales are 2 different things.
Emily Morris. He hasn’t had a right to appeal because he didn’t receive notice. You can file a written appeal now so Norman and Associates can deal with this. Leatherman. I stopped in there 2 or 3 times, and Hobbs was in the middle of things. I filled out paperwork at one point in March. Sent 2 follow up emails. Would like an opportunity to appeal. There is no way that this went up 20% in the last 15 months. Motion to add Leatherman’s appeal to the current list of appeals on this property due to fact that his assessment was returned to the Tax Assessor’s Office. Approved.
Board Members Report
Davis. Asked about getting the report for comparable studies for the Assessor’s Office.
Smith. Hired 2 new people. Haven’t said anything about the 2nd new person. Have to have computers in the office for everyone. If we don’t have the money in the budget, how do we pay these people? Swift. We are going to file an amendment to the budget. Smith. How quickly do we do that? Swift. We talked about this in the Executive Session. Davis. Once we receive the report, I would like to adjust everyone’s salary based on this so we can get out from under this Consent Order so our taxpayers are treated fairly in this process. Smith. What if they don’t give us the money? (The County Commissioners)
Morton. Until the request is received, I can’t answer for the Board of Commissioners. Throughout the year, there are amendments that are necessary and required. If you request it, it will be received, reviewed, and acted upon. Davis. There is an overage in the budget. Once we get the information needed, we will ask the Commissioners for the amendment. Smith. Doesn’t want someone asking for their paycheck and us not have their paycheck. Davis. Got to get the information to ask on this. Swift. Once we get current information from surrounding counties, we will ask the commissioners for the money needed to pay the employees. Davis. 41% of county employees are underpaid according to the past County Commission Meeting.
Swift. Heather Burke from Upson County is being hired as the Deputy Chief Appraiser. Her starting date will be August 24. The office will be staffed at 5, and we need to set the salaries for the other 3 employees.
New Business
a. Board Consideration - Lane.
Contested the square footage. Finished space but should have been 50% over the garage rather than 100%. Coding error. Recommendation to amend this and send to commissioners for consideration of refund for past 3 years.
b. Board Consideration - Kean.
Next door to Lane and same issue.
Motion to send a and b to the commissioners for consideration of a refund due to a coding error. Approved.
c. Late Appeals.
Removal of an outbuilding on one. Norman Appraisals recommended letting these go with the appeals. They came into the office after the 16th. Swift. Concerned with being late and setting a precedent with just a few. Would we do this for a large number? Smith. We have to have deadlines. Swift. Worried about consistency. Davis. Motion to accept the late appeals. 2nd for discussion. Smith. If we do this, we open the door for everyone else. Would like to give everyone a break, but it is their responsibility to file on time. Everyone received their assessment with the deadline. 0-3 opposed. The motion did not pass.
[Note from the Editor: Kudos to the Board for following their policy. This is setting a precedent where people can complain if they want, but everyone is being treated the same according to the same rules. And walking in to file after the deadline is past the deadline so the answer is no.]
d. Non-disclosures
Motion to approve non-disclosures. Approved.
e. Smith
2023 appeal. Lock in 2023. A pool wasn’t put on for 2023 as it should have been. Put on in the 2024 deadline. The lock was removed when the pool was put on in 2024. She’s been in several times since this happened. The fair thing to do would be putting the pool on as a no value for 2023, 2024, and 2025 and the pool put on for 2026 at full value. Not supposed to have any improvements during that 3 year lock. It’s already on there. That was the only way we could find to resolve the issue. Davis. Will there be an issue with a refund that needs to be resolved. Motion for staff to resolve the issue. Approved.
f. Henley
Recommendation to not go with this because this was filed late. This should be done for next year. Motion to deny with recommendation to fill out for next year. Approved.
g. Harrison
Changing homestead from S-1 to L-2 for disability homestead. This was filed by the deadline. Motion to approve per staff recommendation. Approved.
Real Property
a. CUVA in lieu of appeal (7)
Researched and field checked. Motion to approve all in lieu of appeal. Approved.
b. CUVA Continuation (2)
Met all the requirements? Yes. Motion to accept 2 per staff recommendation. Approved.
c. CUVA renewals in lieu of appeal (2)
They let them expire and found that amount went up. Motion to allow both. Approved.
d. Waivers (4)
Motion to approve the 4 waivers. Approved.
e. Homestead exemption 23 S-1
State has changed this so can appeal for 45 days of appeals. Motion to approve per staff recommendation. Approved.
f. Homestead exemption 1 S-5
Motion to approve. Approved.
g. Homestead exemption 1 SD
Motion to approve. Approved.
h. Homestead exemption 8 L-4
Motion to approve. Approved.
i. Homestead exemption 8 L1
Motion to approve. Approved.
j. 8 L7
Motion to approve. Approved.
k. 6 L8
Motion to approve. Approved.
l. 2 L3
Motion to approve. Approved.
m. 1 L5
Motion to approve. Approved.
Personal Property
a. Car Appeal Stewart 2016 Ford F 250
$7,000 purchase price. Average $16,305. State Value $11,100. Motion to go with $11,100 state price per policy. Approved.
Public Comment
David Paulson. When Hobbs came here, he always drove a company vehicle. Why aren’t y’all (Emily and Danyeal) both in the pick up truck? Emily Morris was planning to leave and go back to the office but stayed at the meeting because she was needed. Morris was told thank you for staying.
Attorney Comment
Said that he had an item pertaining to pending or potential litigation that needed to be discussed. Need to amend the agenda to have an executive session. Motion to amend the agenda to add an executive session for pending or potential litigation. Approved.10:10 a.m.
Back in session. 10:36 a.m.
Motion to adjourn. 10:36 a.m.
Here are links to some of the past meetings that Pike County Times has attended.
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - July 21, 2026 - 5:30 p.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor7.14.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - July 14, 2026 - 8:30 a.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor7.14.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - May 7, 2026 - 8:30 a.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor5.7.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - February 13, 2026 - 8:30 a.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor2.13.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - February 2, 2026 - 8:30 a.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor2.2.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - January 13, 2026 - 9 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor1.13.26.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - November 14, 2025 - 9 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor11.14.25.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - October 14, 2025 - 9 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor8.14.25.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING - May 13, 2025 - 9 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor5.13.25.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS SPECIAL CALLED MEETING - December 9, 2024 - 9 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor11.19.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - November 19, 2024 - 4:30 p.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor11.19.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - August 20, 2024 - 11 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor8.5.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - August 5, 2024 - 11 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor8.5.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - July 16, 2024 - 4 p.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor7.16.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - June 18, 2024 - 11 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor6.18.24.html
Board of Assessors Leaves Sales Ratio at $91 Per Square Foot
By Editor Becky Watts
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor6.3.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - May 21, 2024 - 11 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor5.21.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - March 7, 2024 - 11 a.m.
http://pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor3.7.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - February 6, 2024 - 4:30 p.m.
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor2.6.24.html
Click here to read: "BREAKING NEWS: Commission Votes to Appeal Fine and Request a State Review of the Board of Assessors" http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/BREAKINGNEWSrequestforreview2.2.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - January 18, 2024 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor1.18.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - January 4, 2024 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor1.4.24.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - December 19, 2023 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor12.19.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - December 5, 2023 - 11:30 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor12.5.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - November 9, 2023 - 11:30 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor11.9.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - October 17, 2023 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor10.17.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - October 3, 2023 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor10.3.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - September 19, 2023 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor9.19.23.html
BOARD OF ASSESSORS REGULAR MEETING - September 7, 2023 - 11:00 AM
http://www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/taxassessor9.7.23.html