In accordance with State of Georgia law, the Douglas County Board of Assessors will be mailing the annual Assessment Notices to all Douglas County property owners on Friday, June 29. The assessors will be mailing approximately 53,000 notices to real property owners, and approximately 2,900 personal property owners.

These Notices will give the property owner a comparison of last year’s property value (2011) with this year’s property value (2012). The Notice will also include an estimate of what one’s property tax bill would be using the millage rate from last year. Millage rates will be set by the Douglas County School Board, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, and the Mayors and Councils of Douglasville, Villa Rica, and Austell later this summer.

Douglas County Commission Chairman Tom Worthan has stated that he anticipates that the County millage rate will remain the same this year as it has the past three years.  The tax amount shown on the notice is only an estimate, and no payments are to be made at this time. Actual tax bills should be mailed in mid-September.

The Assessment Notice will also have instructions concerning how to file an appeal if property owners feel that the stated assessment is incorrect.  State law allows 45 days for appeals. The appeal deadline is 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 13.

The Douglas County Board of Assessors is a Board that is appointed by the Board of Commissioners but operates under the rules and regulations of the Georgia Department of Revenue. The members of the Board of Assessors, once appointed, act as an independent body and govern the appraisal procedures.

For more information concerning the Assessment Notices and appeal procedures, residents may call 770-920-7228 or visit the Appraisal Department page of the County web site at www.CelebrateDouglasCounty.com. The web page can be translated into 52 different languages using the Google Translate button at the bottom of the page.

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