The Baldwin County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution March 4 to request a state performance rating for the Baldwin County Board of Tax Assessors. The resolution passed in a 3-2 vote with Chairman Andrew Strickland and Commissioners Sammy Hall and Scott Little voting in favor and Vice-Chair Kendrick Butts and Commissioner Emily Davis voting in opposition.
The resolution came before commissioners at last month’s board meeting and failed to pass due to a tie. Strickland and Hall voted in favor while Butts and Davis denied the motion. Little abstained from voting last month because he had four properties on appeal.
“It’s a resolution to request a performance review of the Baldwin County Board of Tax Assessors and for other lawful purposes,” County Attorney Brandon Palmer said.
Prior to board discussion, local resident Robert Binion approached the podium to state it was “mind blowing” that the resolution did not pass last month.
“This was just a kind of a common-sense resolution to me to ask for an audit because there are some issues coming out of that office,” said Binion. “I hear a lot because of my job in real estate.”
Binion stated he went to the courthouse to look into these issues and filed an open records request for emails from the Baldwin County Tax Commissioners Office to the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners.
“It was really eye-opening,” said Binion. “Some of these emails started with y’all back in October with some issues, prior to Mr. Strickland’s and Mr. Little’s terms.”
Binion stated there were issues like senior citizens losing their tax freeze and the county and tax commissioner being delayed on getting necessary information, which caused bills to be sent out late.
“So, there’s some things coming out of that office that need to be looked at, and in my opinion this is something that is needed,” said Binion.
Pam Peacock approached the podium to state how “shocked” she was when Butts and Davis voted no at the prior meeting.
“When I spoke to Mr. Butts after the meeting, the only reason he gave me was there’s more to it than that,” said Peacock. “I also had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Davis on Monday (March 3) and she said Butts was right.
“She also told me there were discussions on this in executive session that she could not share with me. She did tell me that before she could vote on this she would need to have a discussion with the Baldwin tax commissioner.”
Peacock stated she also recently met with Chief Appraiser Wade Williams after she received the assessed value of her home last year.
“My assessed value jumped drastically,” she said. “One issue was my lot acreage had been reduced in a prior year in the tax system. Mr. Williams explained that it was a glitch in the system, and said it affected some lake property owners. I personally believe there should have been a better explanation on that issue to all affected property owners.”
Peacock concluded her comments to state that Baldwin County residents should be informed how procedures, processes or glitches are affecting their property taxes.
Following the comments, Strickland read a letter from Baldwin County Tax Commissioner Cathy Freeman Settle aloud. The letter was dated Jan. 30.
“Mr. Chairman, I am writing this letter regarding the resolution to request the Department of Revenue conduct a performance review of the Baldwin County Board of Tax Assessors and for other lawful purposes,” Settle wrote. “This resolution was placed on the agenda for the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners’ meeting on Nov. 5, 2024. However, the resolution was tabled after a meeting with the county Board of Assessors on Nov. 4, 2024, in which the entire Board of Assessors stated they would resign if the Board of Commissioners moved forward with the adoption of the resolution and therefore the performance review.”
Settle wrote that the office fields several complaints regarding the operations of the tax assessor’s office year after year and that “they look to me for assistance and help in resolving their issues of which I can offer very little.” She emphasized that although the tax commissioner and tax assessors’ office are on one software system, her office does not make system changes to their operations to ensure “a division of responsibilities remain in place.”
“It is my belief that some citizens have made complaints to the Board of Commissioners and Board of Assessors to little or no avail over the years, so therefore, I feel that I must stand up for the citizens who duly elected me to fulfill my duties as tax commissioner and I must be their voice,” wrote Settle. “Audits are a necessary part of all governments. And all departments should be subject to any type of audit and performance review deemed necessary.”
Settle stated the board should “support open government” and not “cower to the intimidation from the Board of Assessors.” Settle went on to state in the conclusion of her letter that to have placed an item on the agenda and “remove it due to intimidation is not conducive to the way the Board of Commissioners should conduct business.”
Butts stated his vote was based on a report from a meeting that commissioners had with members of the Board of Tax Assessors and ACCG officials last November. He said the report was received on Feb. 1.
“We had moderators in the room that gave us about 10 bullet points to follow,” Butts said. “We had an action plan to correct the things they discussed around the board. We said we were going to listen to them and do that, and now we’re calling in the Department of Revenue. We haven’t even (given) them a chance to correct the things (that were mentioned at the meeting).
Butts stated the November meeting was “about the state getting our tax digest on time” and that he’d like to make a copy of the report public so the community can see why he chooses to vote no.
Hall stated he was concerned that after four months, information promised to be provided at that initial meeting had yet to be provided by the Board of Tax Assessors.
“Now, I don’t know what is right and what is wrong, or if anything is wrong in the tax assessors’ office. But I hear from all kinds of people about problems and issues,” said Hall. “In my former job, I was evaluated frequently. I didn’t have a problem with an evaluation because you’re either doing what you’re supposed to do or if you have a problem, you correct it.”
Concluding board discussion, Little stated he attended a county government law class as part of his continued education for becoming a newly elected county official and spoke with an attorney from ACCG. Due to their advice, Little concluded that there is no legal reason he could not vote this time on the matter.
“He said he appreciated my position in why I chose to abstain, but he said, ‘My advice to you is to absolutely not recuse yourself,’” Little said. “He said, “You are a citizen and free to participate in the appeal process and that does not remove your obligation to vote on issues as you were elected.’”