Tennessee helps Bledsoe County get back in black

Bledsoe County, Tenn.
Bledsoe County, Tenn.

REVIEW RESULTS

This summary of the Tennessee Division of Property Assessment’s review of Bledsoe County only indicates improvements that were picked up or deleted. Improvements that were moved to other parcels were not counted.74: houses picked up10: houses deleted88: mobile homes picked up16: mobile homes deleted60: DGUs & DGFs picked up2: DGUs or DGFs removed107: Pole barns or open sheds added4: Pole barns or open sheds removed525: Others added (sheds, utbs, patios, pools, aprons, drwys, etc)18: Others removed (sheds, utbs, patios, pools, aprons, drwys, etc)Net change for tax year 2016:Appraised value: $12,898,790Assessed value: $3,320,387Increased collections (at current tax rate): $75,247Source: Tennessee Board of Equalization, Division of Property Assessments

A team from the state Division of Property Assessments that spent most of the summer reviewing Bledsoe County's tax maps found more than $75,000 worth of unassessed properties that will boost county coffers as a reappraisal year approaches.

More than 1,200 parcels were identified for review by state officials, and 738 of the parcels reviewed had changes.

The recurring annual gain for the county will be $75,247, according to a summary report on the review.

And the state's involvement will continue, officials said.

"The Comptroller's Division of Property Assessments has completed its project to address the noncompliance issues in Bledsoe County, however we will remain heavily involved with assisting the new assessor and his staff with the 2017 reappraisal program through next spring," agency spokesman John Dunn said Thursday via email.

Area appraisal supervisor Ryan Duggin led the summer review and filed the summary of its conclusions following a Nov. 16 meeting of the state Board of Equalization. The team of state officials using high-tech mapping software and actual visits to properties in Bledsoe County numbered as many as 15, the report states.

"With the conclusion of this review Bledsoe County is now in a better position to complete their scheduled reappraisal with an increased degree of accuracy and uniformity," Duggin wrote in the report. "Once reappraisal is completed and the county is at market value, the goal will be to periodically assist and monitor the county to ensure success in assessment activities for the future."

In July, Board of Equalization officials said the assessor's office hadn't kept up its responsibility of recording changes. That meant Bledsoe County taxpayers were being shortchanged, board executive secretary Kelsie Jones wrote in a July 11 letter.

Officials said the skipped properties went back "several tax years," into the terms of the last two county property assessors, Allen Nail, elected in 2012, and 31-year assessor Phil Cagle.

Nail said in July he inherited some problems and shortcomings in mechanisms to track changes, which led to missed assessments. Cagle, who retired in 2011, flatly denied problems in his recordkeeping. He said the state's cyclical reviews also failed to reveal missing assessments, if any were missed on his watch.

Zach Olendorf was elected assessor in August.

The state "will continue to have a high level of involvement [in] the reappraisal program and will ensure that the newly-elected assessor receives the training necessary to be successful," the report states.

Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.

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