A chief appraiser says Baldwin County (Ga.) is in desperate need of a revaluation of properties. Chief Appraiser Dennis Lee and Harry Keim, chairman of the county tax assessor’s board, appeared before the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners to discuss the situation.
“The county is in dire need of a revaluation,” Lee told The Union-Recorder. “We desperately need it.”
Lee said he provided commissioners with information stretching back to 2013. The Georgia Revenue Department cited the county for not being in compliance.
Specifically, Revenue Commissioner Douglas J. MacGinnitie cited that under the Residential Property Class, the finding was that the uniformity as measured by the coefficient of dispersion (COD) of the sample was 16.53 percent, which exceeds the limits of reasonable deviation from the required standard of 15 percent.
“That figure means the county is out of compliance,” Lee said.
The Georgia Department of Revenue regulations currently allow a COD of up to .20 for non-residential properties, and a .15 for residential properties, Lee said. According to Lee, the COD measures fairness or uniformity.
“Coefficients of dispersion higher than .20 indicates a lack of uniformity and significant inequities among the properties being analyzed and further indicate a reappraisal should be considered,” Lee said.
“Failure to have the deficiency corrected by 2019 would be considered a failure to comply with the consent order and the entire $5 penalty from 2016 can be reinstated,” Thomas told Lee in a reply email.
At the January meeting this year of the county tax assessor’s board, Lee said he provided members with internal 2015 ratio data. Those figures show that the county is further out of compliance than it was back in 2013. Lee also provided members with sales ratio data and indicated what all of it meant.