Walker County lowers property taxes
The Walker County, Ga., government will rake in about 5 percent less money in property taxes.
The county released its digest this week, finally revealing the full picture of how much all the land in the county is worth, as well as how much Commissioner Bebe Heiskell will tax people. While the property values throughout the county are going up by $56 million, that jump is more than offset by Heiskell’s decision to decrease the tax rate.
Overall, according to the digest, Heiskell plans to receive about $11.4 million in property taxes for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. This year, the county received about $12 million.
To offset this, Heiskell slashed $600,000 from the county’s general fund expenses for the new fiscal year.
She did not return a call seeking comment Wednesday. But on Facebook, Heiskell hit back last week when a commenter criticized her financial management.
In 2014, the county increased property tax revenues by 54 percent. Last year, the county increased it by 8 percent.
“I for fifteen years now have tried to find ways to keep taxes as low as possible,” she wrote. “No matter who wins [the election in November] you will still pay taxes because the cost of providing services is not free as you would like. … We run this county on about $20 million a year which is lower than the cities, the school system, and most of the surrounding counties. I am sorry but I cannot provide services any cheaper.”
In her fourth re-election campaign, Heiskell is fighting a battle on two fronts. That continued Wednesday, with both her challengers critiquing her administration.
Shannon Whitfield, the Republican party candidate, said Heiskell’s budget is too thin. It is four pages long. By comparison, Catoosa County’s budget is 252 pages long.
In 2015, the Walker County Republican Convention passed a resolution asking Heiskell to publish a line-item budget. Heiskell, who was a Republican at the time, said such a budget would require too much paper.
“It looks to me like the shuffling of chairs on the Titanic,”
Whitfield said. “They’re not being realistic or putting their full budget forward.”
Perry Lamb, an independent candidate, criticized Heiskell because this year’s property tax drop is difficult to evaluate on a person-to-person level. The Georgia Department of Revenue forced the county to re-assess property values because Heiskell said that had not been done here in more than a decade — 12 years for residential properties, 18 years for commercial.
As a result, there was a dramatic increase in overall values. They went up by about $56 million, the digest shows. So, Lamb said, some people saw their land value drop, while others saw it increased by tens of thousands of dollars.
And because of all these changes overnight, Lamb said, it’s difficult for some people to evaluate whether Heiskell’s tax rate drop is going to help them. For example, if the value of your house went up 10 percent and the tax rate dropped by 5 percent, you are still going to pay the county more money this year. (Even if, by and large, the county is taking in less.)
“It’s the lack of consistency in this county’s government that is now causing the people of this county to be very unsure about what is going to happen with their property taxes,” Lamb said, referring to the lack of property re-evaluations for several years. “I still have such a hard time with a [tax assessor’s department] that did not do their job.”
“It’s the lack of consistency in this county’s government that is now causing the people of this county to be very unsure about what is going to happen with their property taxes.” — PERRY LAMB, INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE
HOW THE VALUES CHANGED
While property in the county jumped by $56 million this year, the “net” property value increased by only $21 million. This figure includes the property values, as well as the value of cars, mobile homes and timber.
Why is the net so much lower than the plain property values? Two main reasons: taxes on cars, and exemptions on some homes.
Beginning in 2013, county governments in Georgia haven’t been able to charge annual property (ad valorem) taxes on new vehicles. Instead, car buyers pay a one-time sales tax.
So while the county continues to collect money on old cars, Tax Commissioner Carolyn Walker said, the revenue is shrinking. Last year, the county took in $84 million from vehicles. This year, the number is $64 million.
Also, the county granted about $13 million more in property tax exemptions for people in the county. Walker wasn’t sure about the exact reason for this, though she said it would be logical to conclude more people applied for exemptions this year.
BIGGEST CHANGES
Among changes to this year’s budget: A $300,000 increase to the sheriff’s office budget. Sheriff Steve Wilson said this is mostly in cost-of-living raises, as well as an increase in employee benefits. (This is a 4.8 percent jump for the department.)
A $245,000 decrease in paved streets. (This is a 26.9 percent drop.)
A $165,000 increase in juvenile court. (This is a 40 percent increase.)
A $160,000 drop for “maintenance and shop.” (This is a 22.7 percent drop.)
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 or tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.