The Oglethorpe Echo
Property values across the county remained relatively unchanged after two years of steep increases according to Kem Caldwell, chief appraiser of the Oglethorpe County Tax Assessor’s Office.
“About the only folks that really saw an increase,” he said, “would be the ones that added new construction, remodeled their home, or something we consider an improvement.”
On average, Oglethorpe County property values increased by 20% in 2022, and 22.5% in 2023. Caldwell said calculating the average change this year is “a work in progress,” but that most values will remain “basically the same.”
“We just decided not to try to raise the values,” he said. “It seems like (sale values), they may have slowed down a little bit.”
Caldwell also said that in a typical year, property values should increase “anywhere from 6 to 8%.”
Property owners in Oglethorpe County were mailed “notices of assessment” on June 7. These include the current property values as well as an estimate of how much property tax will be owed by Dec. 20, 2024.
Caldwell emphasized that the figure for taxes owed is just an approximation and will depend on the millage rate set by the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education later this year.
He also noted Georgia law requires most property to be assessed at 40% of its fair market value, but even with recent increases, Oglethorpe County property values have not kept up with sale values.
“The last couple of years our (assessment to fair market value) ratio has been in the low 30s,” Caldwell said. “So we actually, even though we increased… we lost ground to the ratio a little bit.”
Any property owner who disagrees with their value assessment may file an appeal through the Tax Assessor’s Office. Appeals must be filed by July 22, which is 45 days after the notices were mailed.
“I just want to make sure that if anybody has any questions or concerns that they would just contact our office,” Caldwell said. “We’ll be glad to explain it to them and work with them if they want to file an appeal or if they just have a question about ‘why is my property value this?’”
Contact the tax assessor
Property owners can visit the Tax Assessor’s Office at 341 W. Main St. in Lexington or by calling 706-743-5166 or visiting qpublic.net/ga/oglethorpe.