By Sherri Ellington With the state moratorium on property values lifted, the Lamar County board of assessors is looking at a scramble to get values back in line with Department of Revenue standards. Or, they could leave them as is and bite a smaller bullet in penalties while leaving nearly $900,000 in county revenue in place. Commissioner Nancy Thrash, who was at the Aug. 11 meeting, advocated leaving the digest as is and taking the $46,000 penalty. ’When values go down, the digest goes down and services go down,’ she said. ‘We have to keep cutting. If the valuations are fair and equitable, pay the penalty.’ As of 2010, on which the 2011 budget was based, the tax digest was at 40.31%, which is right on target for DOR percentages. It allows an error range of 36% to 44%. However, when 2012 rolls around ‘“ using numbers from this year’s digest ‘“ Lamar County’s tax rate will jump to 60% just as the DOR puts back into place a $5 per parcel penalty for counties being over or under the limit. If the digest is adjusted for fair market value, it still will be at 50%. It could lower further when freeze-related cap values are removed but chief appraiser Jeannie Haddock was doubtful it would reach 44%.
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