Thursday March 28th, 2024 9:56AM

Hall Tax Assessors Office to host meetings on updating property values

By Staff
GAINESVILLE - The Hall County Tax Assessors Office is hosting two upcoming community meetings to discuss the recent real estate equalization project involving an in-depth study of lakefront property values and how they align with lakefront property sales in Hall County.

The meetings will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 3 at the North Hall Community Center and at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 17 at the Mulberry Creek Community Center.

"Equalization is nothing new. We're constantly analyzing and updating property values, however, this project has been extremely large and complex," Hall County Chief Appraiser Steve Watson said. "That's why it's important for us to make sure citizens understand the project and how it will affect their property taxes."

Watson said the meetings will be an opportunity for him to not only demonstrate to citizens the recent disparity between the sale price and appraised value of most lakefront properties in Hall County but also highlight the reasons for not correcting the inconsistencies sooner, including a state-mandated moratorium on increasing property values and his own office's decrease in personnel in the wake of the economic downturn.

"Many lakefront land values have not been comprehensively updated in a number of years, and the current staff and Board of Assessors felt strongly that this is the time to address what was previously neglected," he said.

In addition, non-lakefront property is also being reviewed and updated as needed. At this time, the number of non-lakefront properties that are changing in value is approximately the same as the number of lakefront properties being reassessed.

Watson said the goal of the project is to equally disburse the property tax burden by making sure that all properties in Hall County are assessed at fair market value. The project is expected to be completed by May, which is when this year's property assessment notices are mailed.
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