Lisa Hodges
Chief Appraiser
Staff:
Tyler Massey, Appraiser Clerk
Teresa Williams, Appraiser
Contact Us:
Court House – 425 Railroad Street, Room 102
P.O. Box 111
Jeffersonville, Georgia 31044
Phone: (478) 945-3663
Fax: (478) 945-6008
Board Members:
Paul White, District 4
Sonja Mallory, District 1
Jud Herrington, District 2
Gregory Glover, District 3
Earl Dennard, District 4
About the Board of Assessors
Board members are appointed to fixed terms. The responsibility of the board is to establish fair market value of property for advalorem taxation purposes.
**The Board meets every 1st Thursday of each month at 9:00am – Room 102**
Tax Assessor Services:
- Appeals: Real/Personal Property & Motor Vehicles
- Conservation Use Valuation Assessment Exemption (CUVA)
- Forest Land Protection Act Exemption (FLPA)
- Homestead Exemptions
- Property Valuations
- Tax Returns: Real & Personal Property
Appeals Process:
Annual Assessment Notices are mailed in late May or early June each year. You have 45 days from the date on the notice to file an appeal should you disagree with the value.
FILE BY MAIL: No form is required, but an Appeal Form can be mailed to you if you call and request one. You may also simply write a letter stating that you wish to file an appeal, explain why you disagree with the value. Please include the following information in your letter of appeal:
- Parcel ID number on the Annual Assessment Notice
- Property address
- Your daytime phone number
- Your option of appeal: Board of Equalization, Hearing Officer, or Nonbinding Arbitration (description of each is provided below)
- Any documentation to support your objection to our value
Your appeal form or letter must be hand-delivered or POSTMARKED BY THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE by the appeal deadline date shown on the Notice to ensure acceptance as a timely appeal. Late appeals will not be processed. We do not accept email or faxed appeals.
FILE IN OFFICE: Office hours: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Board of Equalization – There is no charge to appeal to the Board of Equalization (BOE). Upon receiving your appeal, the Board of Assessors (BOA) will review the value or denial in question and notify you of any changes. If you are dissatisfied with the changes, you have the right to continue your appeal to the BOE. If the BOA makes no changes, we will notify you and your agent that your appeal has been certified to the BOE without the necessity of further action from you.
Each BOE is a three-member panel made up of Twiggs County property owners. Each board member has attended at least 40 hours of training in property tax laws and appraisal. If you select this option, you will be scheduled for a hearing before the BOE. The BOE members will have reviewed your letter of appeal. At the hearing they will listen to your presentation and a presentation from the county appraiser. They will then render an independent decision as to the value of the property and you will be notified of this decision in writing. Either party may appeal to Superior Court within 30 days of the BOE decision. Filing fees will be required if you appeal to Superior Court.
- Non-Binding Arbitration –Within 10 days of receiving your appeal to Non-Binding Arbitration, the BOA will send an acknowledgement to you stating your requirement to provide us, at your expense, a certified appraisal of your property prepared by a qualified appraiser. The date of the appraisal should be no more than nine months prior to the date of assessment (January 1) of the tax year of the appeal. You are also required to submit a check in the amount of $214, payable to the Twiggs County Clerk of Superior Court for filing fees.
Upon receipt of your appraisal and within 45 additional days, we will either accept the appraisal, in which case the value will become final and we will return your filing fee; or we will reject the appraisal and certify the appeal to the appeal administrator to issue an order authorizing arbitration. Within 10 days of the rejection, we will send you or your attorney of record, if any, a written notice of rejection by certified mail and notice of a meeting time and place to select an arbitrator.
If the parties agree on the selection of an arbitrator, the matter shall be submitted to a single arbitrator. If the parties cannot agree on a single arbitrator, the presiding chief judge of the Superior Court may choose the arbitrator within 30 days after the filing of a petition by either party.
At the conclusion of the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator shall render a decision regarding the fair market value of the property. If your value is closest to the value determined by the arbitrator, the county is responsible for the fees and costs of the arbitrator. If the county’s value is closest, you are responsible for the fees and cost of the arbitrator. The provisions of nonbinding arbitration may be waived at any time by written consent of both parties. The decision of the arbitrator is not final and therefore appealable to Superior Court by either party.
- Hearing Officer – Appeals to a hearing officer are for disputes involving VALUE or UNIFORMITY and limited to non-homestead properties or wireless personal property valued in excess of $500,000. There is no cost to file an appeal to a hearing officer unless you hire an agent to represent you.
Hearing officers must be either state-certified general real property appraisers or state-certified residential real property appraisers and be approved by the GA Real Estate Commission and the GA Real Estate Appraisers Board. Hearing officers must attend required training at his/her expense.
The BOA has up to 90 days to review the appeal and notify the taxpayer of its decision. The taxpayer has 30 days to notify the BOA if he/she is dissatisfied with its decision. Upon receipt of such notification, the BOA has 30 days to send the appeal to the appeal administrator to schedule a hearing. If the appeal administrator cannot find a hearing officer, the appeal shall be moved to the Board of Equalization.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer shall notify both parties of the decision verbally and shall send the decision in writing. Either party may appeal to Superior Court within 30 days of this decision.
NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNERS AND OCUPANTS
A representative(s) from our office with proper I.D. and marked county vehicle may visit your property during normal business hours for the purpose of collecting and verification of any data for accuracy due to any appeals, returns, permits, business license, sales verification, covenant applications, neighborhood or county wide reviews and an updated photo if needed. This include all residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial properties and Manufactured Homes.