External Web sitewww.qpublic.net/clarke Administration 706-613-3140 Chief Appraiser George Hanson, Jr. Office Location/Mailing Address Athens-Clarke County Courthouse Suite 280 325 E. Washington St. Athens, GA 30601 Location Map

UPDATE: The Athens-Clarke County Tax Assessors' Office is taking part in an address verification and imaging pilot project that will take place beginning Tuesday, July 8 and lasting through the week of July 14 (updated).

As part of the project, a private company will take digital photographs of approximately 5,200 property parcels in the areas of Milledge Avenue, Cobbham, Boulevard, Cedar Creek, Green Acres, High Ridge, Riverbottom, Woodhaven, and Westwood Hills. These areas were chosen to provide a mixture of structures to photograph.

The photographs will be taken from inside a private company’s customized van on the streets in these areas. The van will be marked with signs denoting the project and the phone number of the Tax Assessors’ Office for citizens to call for more information.

The photographs will be used by the Tax Assessors’ Office to verify street addresses and match them with Tax Assessors’ Office drawings and other appraisal data. The photographs of the structures will then be stored for future reference, allowing various departments to reconcile data in property information files. Other benefits of the project include: validation of property addresses to identify homes and businesses for fire, police, and emergency medical responses; improvement of the overall quality of property tax appraisals; and recording of photos of properties in case of losses or for emergency management recovery reports for state and federal assistance.

The pilot project imaging is being provided to Athens-Clarke County by Yotta MVS with no cost or future obligation. For more information, contact the Tax Assessors’ Office at 706-613-3140.

The Board of Tax Assessor's office handles handles Freeport exemptions and business personal property tax returns. Business personal property includes furniture, fixtures, equipment, supplies and inventory of a business. It also includes boats and aircrafts homestead exemptions and property tax returns for real property. The Tax Commissioner's office handles homestead exemptions and property tax returns for real property. Real property is land and generally anything that is erected or affixed to the land.

Freeport exemptions in Athens-Clarke County allow 100% of the inventory of qualified manufacturers under certain conditions to be exempt from taxation. Freeport exemptions and personal property tax returns must be filed with the Board of Tax Assessors by March 1 to receive the full exemption. However, partial exemption can be rewarded if the application is submitted before June 1. The Tax Assessors office is located in the Athens-Clarke County Courthouse, 325 E. Washington Street, Suite 280.

For more information regarding homestead exemptions or property tax returns, please contact the Tax Commissioner's office at 706-613-3120 or visit www.athensclarkecounty.com/tc. A more detailed explanation of homesteads and Freeport may be obtained from the external web site of the Board of Tax Assessors office at www.qpublic.net/clarke.

The Tax Assessors Office is responsible for the appraisal of approximately 40,200 parcels of real estate, 5,217 parcels of personal property, and 2,000 manufactured homes on an annual basis. To insure equalization between similar properties, the county is divided into 499 residential neighborhoods and 96 commercial neighborhoods so sales can be analyzed on an annual basis.

Once a neighborhood’s assessment falls below 38% (95% of market sales) those neighborhoods are updated to approximately 40% (100% of market sales). Should a neighborhood go for some time without any sales, the appraisers know other neighborhoods with similar characteristics that can be used to update those areas in order to keep them equalized with similar properties.

Over the past few years, Athens-Clarke County has sent change notices to approximately 55% - 60% of the real estate parcels in the county in order to keep property values in line with market sales. The annual tax digest has increased 9% - 10% per year. This year, 19,162 real estate properties will receive change notices that represent approximately 47.6% of the parcels. The annual tax digest will increase approximately 7.34%.

All property values must be approved by the three-member Board of Tax Assessors prior to any change in value in order to ensure the tax digest is in compliance with state statutes. The Athens-Clarke County Assessors Office can answer any questions concerning appraisals and can share the information used to value property.

Citizens can contact the Athens-Clarke County Assessors Office at 706-613-3140 with any questions concerning property values. Their web site at www.qpublic.net/ga/clarke also allows visitors to review information on all real estate parcels in Athens-Clarke County. Anyone who has not recently verified the information concerning their property is encouraged to visit the Web site and make sure it is correct.

2006 Digest Stats

• Increase in Taxable Digest from Last Year due to Real and Personal Property ($328,769,495 ) - 10.4% (3.9% - Growth / 6.5% - Inflation)
• Clarke County has 38,980 real property parcels and 5,362 personal accounts
• Tax Assessor is sending 21,014 real property notices and 668 personal notices
• Athens-Clarke County is divided into 478 residential neighborhoods and 96 commercial neighborhoods for sales analysis
  
• Approximately 1,150 new houses/condos built in 2005; 4,200 permits worked
  
• Median home sale is $142,900
  
• 242 – Commercial/Industrial sales 3,254 – Residential sales
  
• Most dramatic increase has been in land sales for higher density development
  
• Clarke County still strives to adjust property yearly to keep up with market value

Tax Assessors Mission and Goals

• Appraise all property located in Clarke County at its fair market value to ensure that taxpayers pay no more than their fair share of property taxes.
• Achieve fair and equitable valuations of all properties within state mandated specifications.
• Reduce the number of Board of Equalization hearings needed yearly by achieving administrative agreements on valuations for inquiries to change of assessment notices.
• Produce a statutorily acceptable digest by May 18.