From the Anderson Herald-Bulletin:
Madison County records show the assessed value of property owned by four prominent Madison County politicians has dropped by a combined $316,800 since 2009, leading critics to charge they’ve benefited from personal and political ties to county Assessor Larry Davis.
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According to online assessment records and property tax bill information available in the County Auditor’s office, Gardner’s personal home and seven investment properties were valued at $365,100 in 2009. His property tax liability on the properties was $6,350, auditor records show.
By 2011, the value of those same properties was $294,600, a reduction of $70,500. And his property tax liability was $5,144, a net reduction of $1,206, records show.
Gardner said he appealed assessments on property he owns, including his personal house as far back as 2009 when Cheryl Heath was county assessor.
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Like Gardner, Gaskill and his wife, Kelly, own their personal home and seven investment properties.
In 2009 the combined assessed value of those properties was $914,000, according to assessor and auditor records. Their total property tax liability was $14,407, according to auditor records.
By 2011, the assessed value of those properties was $695,100, a drop of $218,900. And the Gaskills’ property tax liability declined to $10,822 for a net reduction from 2009 of $3,585.
Records also show that the assessed value of Shelton’s home dropped significantly from 2009 to 2011, while the value of homes owned by County Councilmen Mike Phipps (running for reelection Tuesday) and David McCartney showed modest reductions in assessed value during that period.
In 2009, records show Shelton’s home with an assessed value of $91,100. In 2010, online documents indicate there was an error in the assessment, and the assessed value of Shelton’s home was reduced $27,400 to $63,700. As a result of the changes, however, Shelton’s annual property tax liability went down from $911 in 2009 to $559 in 2011, a reduction of $352.
Similarly, the assessed values of Phipps’ and McCartney’s homes went down from 2009 to 2011. Phipps’ dropped from $152,600 to $133,100 in that time; the value of McCartney’s property jumped from $64,400 in 2009 to $72,600 the following year before dropping to $59,900 in 2011.
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http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x880886088/County-officials-property-taxes-fall
