Q: It is my understanding that each county has an appointed board of tax assessors. What are their duties and are they subject to the Georgia Open Meetings law?
-- Ken Suggs, Lilburn
A: A county board of tax assessors is responsible for a variety of duties, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue. These include: assuring that all personal property and all real property have been returned for taxation at the property valuation; examining returns of real and personal property to determine if property has been omitted from the return or the valuation returned represents the fair market value of the property; correcting returns and assessing the property at fair market value; and sending a written notice of changes in the return to the taxpayer. In some counties, the county board of tax assessors also has been appointed to receive property tax returns and receive homestead exemption applications. In most counties, this is the responsibility of the tax commissioner. Board of tax assessors meetings are subject to the Open Meetings Act, but they are allowed to go into executive session, like with any other board, according to officials with the Georgia Department of Revenue's Local Government Services Division. To find out which county tax official performs these duties in a particular county, select the county in the menu at https://etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/county/index.aspx.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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