Assessor accused of incompetence refuses to resign

Embattled Fulton County assessors board member Donald Johnson is refusing to resign, even though the county commissioner who appointed him has asked him to step down.

Johnson, a self-employed professional appraiser based in south Fulton, has been accused by the state of incompetence, negligence and falsifying documents in several appraisals for private clients, which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported last week. The state Real Estate Commission and Appraisers Board has moved to revoke his license to appraise residential real estate in Georgia.

Commissioner Bill Edwards, galled that he wasn't informed of the charges, asked for Johnson's resignation in a private meeting earlier this week.

Quitting would be an admission of guilt, Johnson responded, according to Edwards. Edwards said he did exact a promise that if Johnson is found in any way at fault, he would step down.

Contacted Wednesday, Johnson did not dispute Edwards' account of the meeting, but he declined further comment. The matter is pending before a state administrative law judge.

"Once the thing is over, everything will be crystal clear," Johnson said.

Johnson is one of five assessors appointed by the commission and charged with deciding the fair market values of homes, businesses and land lots, which determines how much taxpayers are billed.

By state law, the commission can't force out an assessors board member over a private business matter.. A similar situation arose last year, when the panel asked assessor Rick Kenny to resign after learning he had been disciplined by the real estate commission for being "negligent" in overvaluing a duplex in 2005. Kenny remains on the board.

Johnson is accused of overvaluing three Atlanta quadruplexes and a townhouse, all in areas rife with mortgage fraud, between 2005 and 2007 during the height of the housing bubble. Through his attorney, he has denied taking part in fraud.

In one case, the state contends, he set a quadruplex's value at $345,000, ignoring nearby sales of $162,500 and using data provided by the mortgage loan originator and a closing attorney. In another case, he reported that a property hadn't been sold within the past year, even through a new owner had bought it 14 days earlier and was already trying to refinance.

In 2007, the state charges, Johnson and his daughter valued a Moreland Avenue townhouse at $240,000 and, rather than referencing sales on the same street which ranged from $150,000 to $179,000, they used three properties more than a mile away.

The accusations have come to light just as the assessors office prepares to mail out hundreds of thousands of tax assessment notices, starting May 5, informing homeowners what their properties are worth. Johnson's case has invited more criticism from taxpayer advocates who contend Fulton systematically inflates values.