State Board of Equalization members
› Gov. Bill Haslam› Counsel to the governor Dwight E. Tarwater› Hamilton County Assessor of Property Bill Bennett› Secretary of State Tre Hargett› Comptroller of the Treasury Justin P. Wilsont› State Treasurer David H. Lillard Jr.› Commissioner of Revenue Richard H. Roberts› Former Montgomery County Assessor of Property Betty Burchett
The Bledsoe County Assessor of Property hasn’t been performing the basic functions of his job, according to a state agency, so state officials are planning to come in and do it for him.
Property assessors are required to “monitor recorded deeds and building permit activity so new buildings can be added to the assessment roll in a timely manner,” according State Board of Equalization officials. But property reappraisals and assessments for additions and improvements are slipping through the cracks in Bledsoe County and the county tax rolls are being shortchanged, state officials said.
“[Assessor of Property Allen] Nail has not been systematically utilizing these or other sources of information about new structures and Mr. Nail has not been appropriately updating assessment records,” board spokesman John Dunn said. The board oversees assessors’ compliance with state law and constitutional requirements.
Early voting started Friday, and Nail, a Republican, aims to hold his seat against a challenge by Democrat Zach Olendorf.
The Board of Equalization will receive a report and recommendation about Bledsoe’s situation Aug. 9, states a letter Monday to Nail signed by board executive secretary Kelsie Jones.
Jones wrote that Nail and other county officials can attend, “but the likely result of this meeting is a directive to [Division of Property Assessments] to take all steps necessary to cure this noncompliance” using state staff.
State officials said the board’s action will not affect Nail’s ability to run or hold the seat.
Nail, a surveyor elected in 2012, said he is undertaking to solve problems – some that he inherited – in a county that doesn’t have appropriate mechanisms to track property owners’ activities.
“Up until about 20 months ago, we were not aware of all the problems, and I have been working to correct them,” Nail said Wednesday.
Bledsoe County doesn’t require building permits, and other methods of tracking improvements, additions and new construction – such as new sewer permits and electric meter installations – are unreliable and more complicated to collect and verify, Nail said.
Nail said he favors a building permitting system – an unpopular idea in Bledsoe, he said. But free permits wouldn’t be a burden on residents and would ensure better record-keeping, he said.
Dunn said state officials learned of the problems through “routine monitoring” and because county officials expressed concerns last fall.
State officials found problems “going back several tax years” that include some missed new construction and improvements under previous assessor Phil Cagle.
“Due to the age of some of the missing improvements we can assume that the previous assessor had some issues of capturing all of new construction,” Dunn said. “However, we have not seen any historical reports that raised concerns on this issue.”
Cagle, who retired in 2011 after 31 years as assessor and is now mayor of Pikeville, flatly denied problems with his record-keeping. He said his records were accurate and complete the day he retired and he is unaware of any shortcomings on his watch.
“I have never been written up on anything,” he said, noting the state does its own cyclical reappraisals and if there were missed properties, the state missed them, too.
The good news is that state officials believe they can get the office back on track soon.
“The county is small enough that these updates may be accomplished without disrupting Bledsoe County’s 2017 reappraisal completion schedule,” Dunn said. The state charges counties an hourly rate and officials work with county offices to keep costs to local taxpayers to a minimum, he said.
Nail said he’s happy to show residents how the work is progressing, including testimony from property owners and photographs of new parcels that have been added.
“I want people to come in and let me show them what’s going on,” he said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or on Twitter @BenBenton or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.