2. ◦ The intent and purpose of the tax laws of this state are to have all property and subjects of taxation returned at the value which would be realized from the cash sale, but not the forced sale, of the property and subjects as such property and subjects are usually sold except as otherwise provided.

3.  The laws pertaining to Property Tax that were enacted beginning 2009: ◦ House Bill 233- This law imposes a state wide moratorium on assessment increases (with certain exceptions) for 3 tax years beginning with 2009. ◦ House Bill 304- This new law requires assessors, appraisers and our contractors to provided “reasonable notice” to owners and occupants prior to performing site visits. ◦ Senate Bill 240-This creates a binding arbitration appeals process for value disputes on real property only. It also changes some wording on the “Change of Assessment Notice”. ◦ Senate Bill 55- This bill extends to application deadline for filing for the Forest Land Protection Act to June 1, 2009 only. Counties also must now consider foreclosures, bank sales,etc.

4.  The laws pertaining to Property Tax that were enacted beginning 2010: ◦ Senate Bill 346-Ad Valorem Taxes; comprehensive revisions. Requires annual assessment notices sent to all properties Authorizes the creation of regional boards of equalization Requires an estimate of the tax liability on the assessment notice Requires DOR to create a uniform appeal form Requires members of the Boards of Equalization (BOE) to take a written oath of Duty Gives the Superior Court Clerk responsibility for oversight and administration of the BOE Grants appeal rights to a new property owner who makes a purchase before assessment notices are sent

5. Requires DOR to update their training for tax officials and make it available online Authorizes non-homestead properties exceeding $1 million in value to have their appeal heard by a licensed appraiser instead of the BOE Eliminates the non-binding arbitration appeal Defines “arm’s length, bona fide sale” Requires the sale price to be used as the fair market value in the year following the sale Exempts counties from the ¼ mil recovery and $5 parcel penalties during the assessment increase moratorium Includes the property tax paid to other governments when making refunds Authorizes installment billings Clarifies that only the maintenance and operation millage rate is used for purposes calculation the rollback rate under Taxpayer Bill of Rights

6. Eliminates the 3% and 5% threshold for appeals to the get the county digest approved Authorizes a temporary bill on utilities at 85% of last year’s value if DOR is late submitting the utility digest Authorizes the Board of Tax Assessors (BOA) to correct factual errors in the tax digest within 3 years

7.  Chapter 560-11-2 : ◦ Review of County Tax Digest By the State Revenue Commissioner. Amended  1. General  (a) County boards of tax assessors are required by the State Constitution and the state law to continuously maintain assessments of property that are reasonably uniform and that are based on fair market value. The Department of Revenue is required by law to periodically review the county digests to determine if the digests are in compliance with such laws.  (b) This Regulation imposes no additional requirements on the county boards of tax assessors. It merely sets forth the statistical and other methods that are used by the Department in making its determination. The Department of Revenue does not determine when to revalue property.  Due to House bill 233, Audit Department Ratio will not be observed for 3 years, beginning with 2009

8.  Operating under the Georgia Revenue Codes, the board of tax assessors is responsible for the appraisal and assessment of all Residential, Commercial, agricultural and personal property in Jackson County. Property is appraised at 100% of it’s fair market value and assessed at 40% of that value.  Land, Structure characteristics and market information are used determine appraised values.  Appeal Process ◦ Taxpayers may challenge an assessment by written appeal. ◦ Appeals may be filed for the following:  Taxability  Uniformity  Value  Assessment notices are mailed each year in mid-April, (with the exception of 2009 when new laws were not signed until May)  Property owners have 45 days from the postmark on the notice to appeal in writing to the board of tax assessors.

9.  48-5-220 (Georgia Code)  Purposes of county taxes (Just a few of) ◦ County taxes may be levied and collected for the following public purposes:  To pay the expenses of administration of the county government  To pay the principal & interest of any debt of the county  For educational purposes upon property located outside independent school systems  To build and repair public buildings & bridges  To pay the expenses of courts and the maintenance & support of inmates, to pay sheriffs and coroners and to pay for litigation  To build and maintain a system of county roads  For public health purposes  To pay county police  To pay county agricultural agents  To provide fire protection and for the conservation of natural resources  To acquire, improve and maintain airports, public parks and public libraries  For school lunch purposes  To provide for ambulance services within the county  To provide financial assistance to county and municipal development authorities for developing trade, commerce, industry and employment opportunities

11.  January 1 ◦ Effective date of current assessment January 1until April 1 ◦ Period to file tax returns for real and personal property. ◦ Period to file personal property reporting forms ◦ Period to file for Preferential Agricultural, Conservation Use, Freeport ◦ Residential Transitional and Environmentally Sensitive Exemptions  March 1 ◦ Signup deadline Homestead Exemptions

12.  http://www.jacksoncountygov.com/index.aspx?page=57 http://www.jacksoncountygov.com/index.aspx?page=57  http://gaassessors.com/loadpage.php?refurl=http://qpublic.net/ga /jackson http://gaassessors.com/loadpage.php?refurl=http://qpublic.net/ga /jackson  http://www.gaao.org http://www.gaao.org  All real property and all personal property shall be liable to taxation and shall be taxed except as otherwise provided by law.  Tax amounts are calculated by using a combination of property value and the millage rate. A change in either can impact your bill.  Grounds for assessment appeals: Value, Taxability and Uniformity. (the amount of tax is not a valid reason for appeal).

13.  Ad valorem taxation is thought to be a fair basis for collecting taxes because the tax is proportional to your ability to pay and the benefits you gain from the services the county provides. It is a local tax that reflects local budget priorities.  State law governs everything the assessors do; therefore, if the Board of Assessors does not comply with the state law, the county governing authority will be assessed costly penalties if assessments do not meet state regulations or fair market value.

14.  Parcel Count/ Ratios  2000-23,12040.23  2001-19,63139.32  2002-20,75138.66  2003-21,69938.80  2004-23,34538.08  2005-26,49538.84  2006-29,48736.87  2007-31,01538.20  2008-32,564TBD  2009-33,009Working Digest  Due to House bill 233, Audit Department Ratio will not be observed for 3 years, beginning with 2009

18. Summary of Budgets by Fund Type FY 2010

20. Jackson County, Georgia Executive Summary Budget for Fiscal Year 2010 General Information The FY 2009 tax rate is set at 9.50 mills for incorporated area; 8.61 mills for unincorporated area vs. 9.49 and 8.61 for FY 2008 respectively. This represents a 0.01 mill increase in the incorporated area and no change in unincorporated area from the FY 2008 tax rate. FY 2010 total annual budget is $66,359,771, a decrease of 6.36% or $4,504,802. FY 2010 approved General Fund budget of $35,144,978, a decrease of $2,517,676 or 6.68% from FY 2009. In order to balance the budget for FY 2010 several major cost-reduction measures were implemented. They are as follows: Employees will be furloughed 12 days or the equivalent of 96 hours in FY 2010 saving an estimated $781,440 in salaries and benefits. These days will be officially declared holidays by the Board of Commissioners to comply with the Georgia Code for purposes of closing the County courthouse. These days have been strategically placed at or near other traditional holidays and major events so that the impact on the public and employees is lessened. 401a Defined Contribution Retirement funding has been eliminated for FY 2010 saving an estimated $690,105. This was an alternative to increasing furlough days so that the employees will not feel the impact to their paychecks and are able to sustain a viable income in the short term. Employees ’ dental insurance premiums have increased by $177.58 per year. The full cost increase has been passed along to the employees. The Board of Commissioners voted to restructure the S2008 Economic Development Bonds by paying down $5,000,000 in principal, taking advantage of a slightly reduced interest rate, reducing the maturity by four years, and front-loading the savings into FY 2010. The total savings for the restructuring amounts to $1,128,712 for FY 2010.

21. Executive Summary continued... FY 2010 Annual budget includes $95,000 in appropriations to supplement DOT Funds and SPLOST Funds to continue an aggressive base & pave and resurfacing program for county infrastructure. In FY 2010, the transfer out to the Jackson County Health Department was left at $230,784. This is due to the high demand of services for the Health Department which has seen a dramatic increase in patient care due to loss of local jobs and benefits during this economic downturn. FY 2010 Annual budget includes $757,996 in appropriations for repayment of principal and interest on the County ’ s fleet of Caterpillar heavy equipment. The County has established a new 3-year replacement cycle for this equipment. A contingency fund was eliminated in the FY 2010 annual budget, a decrease of $486,106 from FY 2009. In FY 2010, appropriations for Capital Outlay have been allocated to a Capital Projects fund. The total appropriation for this fund is $1,889,038, a decrease of $1,592,702 or 45.74% from FY 2009. These appropriations are for items that include fleet vehicle replacement ($144,000), Sheriff ’ s patrol car replacement ($575,000), Mowers for the Road Department ($83,000) and one new ambulances ($200,000). Transfers out from the General Fund are $11,223,667, a decrease of $459,296 or 3.93%. The primary cause of this decrease in the transfers out is due to refinancing the economic development bonds and refunding $5,000,000 of the total. This front-loaded much of the savings for FY 2010 under the new amortization schedule. While many of the departments within the Special Revenue Funds receive a transfer out from the General Fund, there were very few increases in transfers out to most departments. Some of the major increases for Transfers Out are as follows: a.Solid Waste $110,112 b.Fire Training Facility 268,517 c.Roads & Bridges 108,301 d.Airport Authority 160,126 EMS revenue was increased for FY 2010 by $157,166 or 11.81% due to increased ambulance fee collections. This along with the other cost-saving measures has decreased the transfer out from the General Fund to EMS by $280,974 or 13.31%.

22. Executive Summary continued... Personnel Salaries in the General Fund have decreased $798,680 or 5.98% even as the full effect of the 20 positions that were phased-in during FY 2009 are now accounted. The remaining decreases are primarily the result of 12 furlough days. There was only one position approved for FY 2010, which is a corrections officer position in the Correctional Institute needed due to the increase of inmates to be housed in the IW Davis Detention Center. The cost for this position is offset by additional revenue from the Georgia Department of Corrections. Benefits have decreased $561,273 or 12.26% primarily due to the phase-in of the 12 furlough days and the elimination of the 401a defined contribution retirement funding from the County. Other increases result from changes in employee health insurance coverage as many employees have added family coverage to offset the loss of a spouse ’ s job. However, there was no cost increase in the group health insurance premiums for FY 2010 dental insurance cost increases were passed on to the employees. Other Information The FY 2009 Budget is balanced without the use of prior years ’ reserves. Presently, the County ’ s reserves are $8,878,005. Provided the County breaks even or has a surplus for the year ending December 31, 2009 then the County would expect reserves to be approximately 25.26% of the total FY 2010 budget of $35,144,978 exclusive of other financing sources. Jackson County ’ s 2009 Net Digest has increased 1.45% or $34,932,045 over the prior year ’ s digest.

23.  The following information is derived from the FY 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.  You may access a copy of the FY 2009 CAFR on the Finance Department webpage located directly at: http://www.jacksoncountygov.com/Index.aspx?page=657 or by navigating to the Finance Department page from the Jackson County Home Page located at: www.jacksoncountygov.com

24. 24  Issued an “Unqualified” or “Clean Opinion”  References other reports issued ◦ Report on internal control and compliance in accordance to “Government Auditing Standards”  We test internal control to ensure controls are effective  We included findings related to internal controls in our audit report.

25. 25  Financial Trends  Revenue Capacity  Debt Capacity  Demographic and Economic  Operating Information

26. 26

27. 27

28. 28

29. 29

30. 30  Decrease from prior year ◦ $8 million, due to scheduled payments of principal and interest - plus refunding 2008 bonds  Economic Development Authority bond issued  2009 bonds $25 million Used to reduce balance on $45 million bonds issued in 2008 An additional $5 million of unspent proceeds was used to reduce balance on 2008 bonds Issued $15.9 million in 2010 to pay remaining balance of 2008 bonds

31. 31

32. 32  Revenues increased $364 thousand from 2008 ◦ Property tax increased $1.7 million ◦ Charges for services increased $1.3 million ◦ Intergovernmental decreased $1.4 million ◦ Local sales tax decreased $991 thousand  Expenditures decreased $11.2 million (30.8%) before transfers to other funds ◦ Capital outlay decreased by $5.3 million ◦ Debt service decreased by $1.6 million (net after $4.7 million transferred to debt service fund) ◦ Public safety increased by $937 thousand

33. 33

34. 34  Transfers ◦ Transfers out to subsidize other funds $9.2 million  Debt service fund - $4.7 million  Park and recreation - $800 thousand  Protective inspection/planning & zoning - $360 thousand  EMS for annual operations - $1.8 million  E911 for operations - $419 thousand  Senior Center - $293 thousand  CDBG - $139 thousand for construction of Senior Center  Other - $214 thousand ◦ See details of transfers on page 46 of the financial statements

35. 35

36. 36

37. 37  Government Finance Officers Association recommends 15%-25% of general fund balance revenues  Jackson County is at 21.85% at December 31, 2009