8 months ago
The chairman of the Jones County Board of Tax Assessors resigned after a state report said he "is not properly performing his duties" and should be replaced.
Milton Appling wrote a letter of resignation to the Jones County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 27th.
Jones County Commission Vice-Chairman Larry Childs says a recent report released by the Department of Revenue listed areas that the Assessors Office could improve.
In his resignation letter, Appling wrote, "The Board of Assessors requires members who are willing to perform tedious work and sometimes devote an inordinate amount of time to meet the demands and standards of the public and the Department of Revenue. The monetary rewards are minimal and the time and effort required are often uncompensated."
The Jones County Board of Commissioners accepted the resignation.
The Department of Revenue report included many criticisms of Jones County's board of assessors and the appraisers, but singled out Appling for some of the harshest criticism.
It was prepared by a board of three outside appraisers who interviewed Jones County officials and residents.
Their report said the chairman "is not properly performing his duties. Due to his apparent lack of interest in performing his duties, along with his dependency on the appraisal staff....the (state board) recommends that he no longer serve on the BOA."
Appling did not return phone calls from 13WMAZ.
The report also said board members "do not have a comprehensive knowledge of the current market values of property and assessments used in the annual compilation of the tax digest. The chairman of the BOA stated that he did not see the need to know this information as a part-time assessor. He further stated that he did not intend to change this practice."
The state report also said that Chief Appraiser Linda Sibley "appeared to dictate the decisions made by the board." She also serves as a member of the assessors board that is supposed to supervise her work, the report said, and the state report recommended that she not be reappointed to the board.
Among other criticisms, the state report said residents reported a "feeling of intimidation" at board hearings, that there was a "lack of clear responsibility and accountability" in the appraisers office due to sharing of duties, and that staff members were not properly managed and trained.
The state also said that Jones County commissioners need to better understand the assessors' duties, "to make sure they are appointing competent members" who can provide "a fair and equitable assessment program."
To read the state report, click on the link to the right.
