Bryan County residents will soon receive their annual assessment notices in the mail this June, but they might look a little higher than last year’s.
That’s because the tax break put in place last year by Gov. Brian Kemp–known as the Homestead Tax Relief Grant–won’t return for 2024, according to Bryan County’s Chief Appraiser Liz Todd. The one-time tax credit refunded $950 million in property taxes back to homestead owners across the state of Georgia in 2023.
“We are all property owners and understand [the difficulties], but at the end of the day our job requires us to place a fair and equitable value,” explained Todd.
The Assessor’s Office is mandated by law to reflect the fair market value of real estate in the county, with stiff penalties imposed by the Georgia Department of Audits if a county’s assessments are found under market ratio.
When property owners receive their assessment notice, they have a 45-day period to file an appeal if they believe that their property has been assessed at an unreasonably high value. Appeals go to the Board of Equalization, which is a separate entity from the Assessors’ Office and is composed of trained property owners that make determinations in property value appeals.
However, Todd makes it clear that appealing value estimates doesn’t mean that the Assessor’s Office can change the tax itself; mileage rates are determined by external governmental entities, which include the Board of Education, cities, and the county.
“If they [owners] appeal the property, they can appeal the value, but they can’t appeal the tax,” said Todd. “That’s not what our office does.”
Rapid growth throughout Bryan County–particularly in North Bryan–has played a role in rising real estate values, says Todd, which is a market trend reflected across counties the United States this year.
Over the past couple of years, Hyundai’s Metaplant America is perhaps the biggest industry leader bringing residential development to Pembroke and surrounding localities.
The Bryan County Board of Assessors is responsible for appraising around 23,000 parcels which include residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial properties.
The tax rate, or millage, in each county is set annually by the board of county commissioners and by the Board of Education, according to the Georgia Department of Revenue website. A tax rate of one mill represents a tax liability of one dollar per $1,000 of assessed value.
When a tax digest–which is the assessed total of all property in a county–is growing as Bryan County’s has been, then the value of a mill increases, which forces governments to either adopt a rollback millage rate or advertise a tax increase.
Among local governments only the Bryan County Commission has adopted a rollback rate in recent years. The City of Richmond Hill, the City of Pembroke and the Bryan County Board of Education have all maintained the same millage rate.
Property taxes are key to funding local government operations, explained Todd. Cities, counties and local Boards of Education are responsible for setting their budgets for services which compute their county’s millage rate.
“The schools, the county and the cities [all] need a certain amount of money for services,” said Todd, while stressing that all Board of Assessors are separate from municipal entities.
“Our only goal is value,” said Todd. “We value the property, [and] the schools, the city, and the county taxes it and then the tax commissioner collects it.”
In the state of Georgia, property is taxed on 40 percent of its appraised value, minus homestead exemptions. But for senior citizens, Bryan County has one of the most generous homestead exemptions; individuals 65 and over can exempt $50,000 off school, county and city property taxes if they qualify. For non-seniors, regular homestead exemptions can reach $30,000. Additionally, there are exemptions available for agricultural properties as well. The deadline for requesting exemptions is April 1st each year.
Those exemptions are submitted to current Bryan County Tax Commissioner Pamela Gunter, and approved by the Board of Assessors.
The Assessor’s Office encourages property owners to contact the Bryan County office or the Tax Commissioner's office to verify eligibility for homestead exemptions and/or check to ensure that they are receiving exemptions.
Property owners may contact the Bryan County Tax Commissioner's office at (912) 653-3880, and the Bryan County Tax Assessors’ Office at (912) 6533889.
To pay property taxes online, visit https://bryancountyga.governmentwindow.com/tax.html. Service fees with credit/debit card payments may apply.
To download an Appeal of Assessment form, visit the Georgia Department of Revenue’s website. Property owners may also visit the Bryan County Tax Assessors’ Office in person for a form.