The Gilmer County Board of Assessors updated several assessors office policies and named board members for 2024 during its first meeting of the new year.
Assessor board positions will remain the same for the year, with Bill Logan continuing as chairman and Jerry Davis as vice chairman. Logan has been the board’s chair and Davis its vice chair since 2022.
Updated policies included some that are applicable to office employees and others that apply to how certain properties are handled.
“Most of it is updating it on current code or fixing some grammar issues. A new handbook came out from the board of commissioners, so some of the changes are from the handbook,” said Theresa Gooch, chief appraiser.
Among updates of note to property owners and taxpayers:
﹣ A homestead exemption removal card will be sent to get more information if homestead property ownership has changed to a trust, and it isn’t clear if the original applicant is the trustee.
﹣ Nondisclosure for government employees (as it pertains to having property listings not visible on the assessors office webpage) will be automatically removed if the applicant is no longer a current employee of a government entity, with the exception of law enforcement.
﹣ Real and personal property appeals received after the appeal deadline will be considered untimely, and the applicant will receive a letter.
﹣ For personal property audits, if a second audit notification is unanswered, the audit will be deemed incomplete and documented as such, or a value will be established based on the best information available.
﹣ For valuing boats: All boats registered with the DNR in Gilmer County will be mailed a return if the total amount of taxable personal property owned by the taxpayer is over $7,500, if the account is under audit for the current year, if the account is new or if new boats have been added to an existing account. If all information is known about a boat, but it isn’t available through the ABOS blue book, appraisers will use NADA values if available or market data if needed.
﹣ Personal property accounts will be audited every three years on a rotating basis. New accounts will be audited after three years in operation, then every three years thereafter.
Another policy update states that the assessors office will now close early on the two Fridays before both Apple Festival/Apple Arts weekends due to increased activity in the area near the courthouse while the Apple Arts event is being set up.
Logan suggested the office close at 3 instead of 4 p.m. on those days due to the event’s vendor setup usually getting started as early as noon.