Haralson Commission: chief tax assessor shares that since the commission opted out of HB581, most property owners will see a “reduction in their taxes” and that “going forward” “no more than a 3% increase”
by Janice Daniel
The Haralson County Board of Commissioners met for their Regular Monthly meeting on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2026 at 6:00 p.m., at the Commissioners’ Office at 155 Van Wert, Buchanan, with all commissioners present, along with County Attorney, Avery Jackson, and county employee Maria Franklin taking the minutes. The Invocation was offered by District 2 Commissioner Danny Elsberry and Chairman Walker led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chairman Walker called for approval of the agenda, and Vice-Chairman District 1 Commissioner David Tarpley asked about the vote on the County Manager position, then noted that it will be tabled. When the Chairman asked for any participation on agenda items, Robert Gore asked for a description of the duties the County Manager would perform, and was informed that all that information and more will be published before the item is put on the ballot for voters to decide if they want this position to be added to the County employees.
District 4 Commissioner Ryan Farmer read a Proclamation of appreciation for twenty (20) years of service on the Library Board by Mary Jarrell and Yvonne Kimball, thanking them for all the work they’ve done on the Board as well as the Buchanan Public Library.
The Board voted to table their vote on the County Manager position.
The Tanner Hospital Board notified the county that three members need to be appointed to serve from Haralson County. Richard Davis, Angela Awalt and Renee Bell were unanimously appointed.
The Crossbeam/Carroll EMC Tax Abatement request made at the January 20th, 2026 Board Work Session/Regular Meeting was approved 5-0. For clarification, County Attorney Avery Jackson advised StarNews that this action will close the previous ten-year abatement from 2024 and replace it with a new seventeen-year abatement, consisting of the seven years remaining on the first abatement with an additional ten years added to help Carroll EMC with their $22 million investment of fiber cable, both underground and on poles, along with the fasteners used to attach the fiber to the poles. Carroll EMC will provide the Haralson County Development Authority with all paperwork to substantiate their investment.
The Board then voted 5-0 to pass a Resolution calling for TSPLOST III to be on the May election ballot. The allocation between the county and the cities will be based on population, the same as the six-year SPLOST allocation.
Chairman Walker advised that HR Director Brian Krasielwicz had confirmed the qualifications of the companies who placed a bid on the Waco Fire Department concrete installation project, and after Commissioner Farmer abstained due to personal connections, the lowest bidder, Cole Concrete & Construction was approved 4-0 to be awarded the job at the lowest bid of $42,800.
In Participation on Non-Agenda Items, Jeff Dewberry said that since the Board set the rollback rate as the new millage rate for the county in their January 29th, 2026 meeting, which was a slight reduction in the millage rate from the previous year, but certainly not enough to offset the increase in property values, when can those who filed second appeals expect to hear the result of those appeals?
Dewberry also asked if the property owner still disagrees with the property value after receiving information on their second appeal, is the next step to go to the Board of Equalization?
Chairman Walker asked Chief Tax Assessor, Zach Smith, to speak to Mr. Dewberry’s question.
Smith advised that, in order for the digest to be submitted to the Georgia Revenue Commissioner, the property value in dispute through appeals has to be less than 8% of the total. He said currently the 1,300 appeals (including 800 second appeals) still pending are at a little less than 3%, so tax bills will be issued, even on the outstanding appeals. He said his office is working as hard as they can to resolve all of them, but advised anyone who has not yet heard from their appeal to call or email the Haralson County Tax Assessors Office as soon as possible, and they are working on a timeline of about a week or so to answer the questions. Smith also said that there were originally 6,400 appeals on property tax values, which is 39% of the digest, so they have made significant progress in settling disputes. As to Dewberry’s question “if property owners still disagree with the second appeal values, is the next step to take it to the Tax Equalization Board”, Smith said “yes”.
Smith also advised that, because neither the county nor any of the cities in the county opted out of HB581 floating tax exemption provision, most people will see a reduction in their county tax due to the millage rate reduction. He said this year’s county tax will be based on 2024 property values, and going forward property owners should not see more than 3% increase in values except in the case of remodels, upgrades, or additions of garages or other buildings. He did say that the Board of Education is the only taxing entity that opted out of HB581, but as reported in the StarNews, in their meeting of January 13th, 2026, the school millage rate was reduced from 14.548 to the rollback rate of 10.494.
Although tax bills will be issued on outstanding appeals, Smith did say the Tax Commissioner can agree to accept 85% of the taxes due until the appeals are resolved, and can also agree to a payment plan if approved by the Department of Revenue.
The meeting was then adjourned.