Watch for your tax notice

By week’s end, barring anything unforeseen, Grady County property owners can expect to receive their tax assessment notice from the Grady County Tax Assessor’s Office.
Chief Appraiser Susan Bennett told The Messenger late Tuesday afternoon that she expects the notices to be mailed today, Wednesday, and the notices should begin to find their way into local mailboxes in the days to follow.
New Georgia law requires that assessment notices be mailed to all taxpayers, even if their assessments were lowered. The requirement angers county commissioners who say the cost to mail the notices is a wasted expense.
“It is very unlikely a taxpayer is going to appeal an assessment that is lower than it was before. I can see mailing notices when the values rise and assessments go up,” said Commission Chairman Charles Norton.
The new notice also is required to include a projected tax amount due for this year’s taxes based on the millage rate adopted by local governing bodies last year.
Officials remind local residents that the assessment notice is not a bill and does not necessarily reflect the tax liability that will be due this December.
Property owners will have 45 days from the date the assessment notice is issued to appeal their property values if they so choose. For more information contact the Tax Assessors office at 229-377-3325.