Madison County tax rolls swell

Property value tops $1B for 7th straight year

Madison County's growth spurt continues as the tax rolls keep getting fatter.

For the seventh year in a row, the assessed value of real and personal property topped the billion-dollar mark. The total worth of the county hit $1.36 billion in assessed value in 2010, showing a 4 percent increase over last year, Tax Assessor Gerald Barber told the Board of Supervisors.

"There are 81 other tax assessors who would love to have these numbers," Barber said.

In today's slumping national economy, the county's growth is more than the tax assessor expected. He said he was hoping to beat 2 percent growth.

Supervisors will take the property values, which represent a percentage of true value, to prepare a budget for spending in the fiscal year starting Oct. 1.

"Going into the budget working with these numbers and the positive news that Gerald gave us means we can balance our books without a tax increase," said Tim Johnson, president of the Board of Supervisors. "Looking at 4 percent growth in this economy, Madison County is very blessed."

In addition to the county's growth, Barber also presented assessed values for the four municipalities and two school districts, and all but one showed an increase. The city of Canton's 2010 tax assessment showed a 2 percent drop from 2009, from $71.7 million to $70.4 million.

Madison and Ridgeland both experienced a 5 percent growth in value, while Flora reflected a 3 percent growth in assessed value. The Madison County school district showed a 4 percent increase over last year, while the Canton school district showed a 3 percent rise.

"In this economy, that's really, really fantastic," said David Overby, Ridgeland director of finance.

The city of Madison was the only one to show an increase in the assessed value of autos among the county's taxing districts. The value of vehicles in the city, reflected by taxes paid in car tags, rose 6 percent, compared with a 4 percent drop in the county and in the county school district, a 5 percent drop in Ridgeland and in Flora, a 7 percent drop in the Canton school district and a 10 percent decrease in Canton.

"It appears the city of Madison is still buying cars," Barber said.

The lower values in the automobile class shows that people are holding onto their existing vehicles and paying less in taxes on tags each year or they are buying less expensive cars than in the past and paying less for tags, he said.

Barber, who spoke to supervisors on Tuesday, also said the tax rolls show a decrease in new construction throughout the county, except in Ridgeland.

Madison County overall showed a drop in construction of $7.8 million, down to $35.5 million, while Ridgeland showed an increase of about $841,000 in assessed value, up to $11.7 million.

Clarion Ledger

Madison County Schools get boost, may get to keep some teaching positions open.

School district enjoys one-time ‘windfall’

Madison County schools may be able to keep several teaching positions next fall because of a nearly $260,000 one-time windfall.

Leavitt Tube, LLC, owes back taxes dating to 2003. Tax assessor Gerald Barber said an oversight led to the company not paying taxes on its buildings and grounds after a 10-year tax exemption lapsed.

School Superintendent Mike Kent welcomed the good news.

Earlier this month, Kent told The Clarion-Ledger that the district might have to eliminate 40 teaching units to balance the upcoming budget because of cutbacks from the state.

In addition to the back taxes, Barber says the school district can expect Leavitt Tube to pay its yearly taxes from now on. The annual amount, over the past seven years, has ranged from $31,199 to $49,628.

Mississippi Business Journal