Tax digest holds steady after years of instability

The Macon-Bibb County tax digest is stable after several years of declining property values.

In 2016, real and personal property in Bibb County is valued at $4.048 billion, which is about $46 million higher than the previous year. Until 2015, the valuation had steadily decreased from a high of about $4.2 billion in 2011.

“Personal property” includes items that can be moved, such as business vehicles and office furniture, while “real property” includes land and buildings.

“Our values have really continued to drop until this year,” said Andrea Crutchfield, chief appraiser at the Bibb County Tax Assessor’s Office. “This is the first year (from 2015 to 2016) that the property values overall went up about 1 percent. Most of the growth is in commercial and industrial. Residential is still probably dropping small amounts, but not significantly.”

Some of that commercial and industrial growth could be attributed to an improving economy. Also, there have been fewer cases in which a property underwent foreclosure and was sold by a bank.

“We’re definitely having fewer of those than over the last four or five years, so there are some positive aspects,” Crutchfield said.

The steady digest values have aided the Macon-Bibb County Commission in maintaining the millage rate at 14.652 mills, which is expected to receive final approval from commissioners next week. The tax digest would then head to the state Department of Revenue for review, and property owners should get their property tax bills in September.

“Anytime you don’t have an entity or levying authority going up on the millage rate, that’s definitely a good thing,” Tax Commissioner Wade McCord said. “What’s said by that is the county and departments are being fiscally responsible.”

In 2009, the Department of Revenue forced a revaluation of property values across Bibb County, but since then the state has found the values to be “statistically acceptable,” Crutchfield said.

The overall 2016 digest, which calculates categories such as real and personal property, public utilities and motor vehicles, is slightly under $4 billion, about $2 million lower than the previous year. The total amount of taxes levied in 2015 was $58.6 million. In 2016, there would be a $40,029 decrease, or .07 percent, according to documents.

While the millage rate from Macon-Bibb County is expected to remain the same, there will be a 2-mill increase from the Bibb County school district. School board members are scheduled to have a third and final hearing on that proposal at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

But how much a tax bill changes for individual home owners will depend on several factors, including if the latest assessment changed the value of their home.

While Macon-Bibb felt the pinch of the economic recession, the market was not hit as hard as many major cities such as Atlanta, said Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Mallory Jones, an associate broker with Coldwell Banker.

The Macon real estate market has improved lately, he said.

“We’re seeing in the last six months that (homes) are selling in less than average times,” Jones said.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 2:04 PM with the headline "Tax digest holds steady after years of instability."