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Tax Assessor
 | | Mitzi Faulkner Presley
Tax Assessor
P. O. Drawer 636
Monroe County Courthouse
301 S. Chestnut St.
Aberdeen, MS 39730
662-369-2033 | Duties of this office include listing and placing value on all taxable property, real and personal, maintaining the tax maps and assisting homeowners with Homestead Exemption applications. |
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Office Hours - 8 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ● Monday thru Friday
(except legal holidays) |
| Responsibilities of the Tax Assessor |
● | The county tax assessor must, by personal inspection and examination, gather and record any and all available data and information bearing upon the location, number, amount, kind and value of any and all property and persons which she is required by law to assess. | | ● | It is hard to overstate the importance of assessors to the administration of the property tax and indirectly, the vitality of local governments. Appraised values, as the basis of assessed values, determine the distribution of property tax levies among taxpayers. Only if these values are correct will tax limits, debt limits, and the distribution of state aid to localities be as the legislature intended. Boards of review and boards of equalization can never fully correct poor initial assessments. | | ● | Another duty of the assessor is to inquire into the purchase price paid for any property, real or personal, and to ascertain and acquaint herself with any sales or transfers of property of similar description or value made or effected in the vicinity, within the year or years next preceding the listing for assessment then being made. The price paid for property should be considered by the assessor in determining the value of property listed for assessment. | | ● | The tax assessor has the right, power and authority to require an inspection of a property owner's books and accounts, papers, memoranda, and records, and from this inspection make an estimate of the value of property. The assessor may also question the owner, agent or employees of the owner about the actual cash value of any property subject to assessment. The assessor has the right and power to inquire into and ascertain the insured value of any and all property, or into the value at which the property has been insured previously. This includes the amount of fire insurance carried on all stocks of merchandise or goods kept for use or sale, machinery, fixtures, and other property. If the assessor believes or has reason to believe that the list of taxable property furnished by any person is incomplete or incorrect, or if any property has been undervalued, they shall assess the same and add it to the assessment roll as its true value. | | ● | Many aspects of the assessor's work are spelled out in statutes. The statutes also define value, list the information to be included on the assessment roll, and provide a timetable for completing various duties of the office to which Mrs. Presley has been elected. | | ● | These duties are carried out within an administrative and political system that includes many other elected officers. The assessor works with the Tax collector who is responsible for preparing forms and computing the tax bills and collects the taxes. Mrs. Presley also works closely with the office of Chancery Clerk. Through the Chancery Clerk's office the assessor's office receives deeds that have been filed to transfer ownership of property. The office of the Tax Assessor needs these deeds to assure that the proper taxpayer is being assessed with the property that is owned by the taxpayer. | | ● | The State Tax Commission oversees the values that are produced by the Assessor's office. The Commission reviews the values by a means of Ratio Studies and audits of the appraisal files as noted by statutes. |
| ● | A real property assessment system organizes resources to carry out the primary assessment responsibilities of discovery, listing, and valuing properties in accordance with property tax statutes | | ● | All responsibilities related to assessment are carried out within the Assessor's office. These responsibilities include supervision, handling appeals, appraisal review, and equalization. | | ● | Supervision describes a variety of oversight or coordination including fact-finding and analysis, providing appraisal tools and equipment, providing technical and professional services, education and certifying appraisal personnel, and enforcing laws, regulations, and standards. | | ● | Appeal refers to the process that a taxpayer may question the appraisal that has been placed on the property that they own. | | ● | Appraisal Review describes the examination of the appraised values by the Assessor's office. This office has the power to alter individual appraisals on its own initiative in order to correct clerical errors, assess previously omitted property, exempt property that was assessed in error, and correct appraisal inequities. Appeal refers to the process that a taxpayer may question the appraisal that has been placed on the property that they own. | | ● | Equalization describes the process by which the Assessor's office makes adjustments to the total appraised value of the district or of classes of property within the district so that the total appraised values within the jurisdiction all bear the same relationship to the total market value. |
| Primary Tasks Performed By The Assessor's Office |
| ● | Locating and identifying all taxable property in Monroe County and the municipalities located in Monroe County. The primary tools used to locate taxable property in Monroe County are the maps that plot every parcel of land located in Monroe County. These maps are commonly referred to as the "Ownership Maps". These maps are kept up to date with all deeds that are filed as of January 1 of every year, in respect to the ownership of the property. In the case of Personal Property that is used in a business, there are statutes that prescribe the administrative procedures to locate and identify it. For example the taxpayer is required to file a return listing taxable personal property with the assessor, who then audits the return. | | ● | Making an inventory of the quantity, quality, and important characteristics of all taxable property. To insure the accurate valuation of properties an inventory is essential to the assurance of equity in the taxation of similar properties. In the assessing of real estate, a drawing of the improvements is necessary to establish the size of the improvements. Information that will be used to appraise the property will be gathered at this time. Notes will be taken as to the use of the property and the materials that are used to construct the property. |
| ● | Estimating the value of each taxable property. The Assessor's office will make use of all appropriate appraisal techniques to estimate value. It is critical that the quality of this estimation be carried out to insure the equitable distribution of the tax burden. |
| ● | Determining the extent of taxability of each property. To determine the extent of taxability of each property, the Assessor reviews legislation affecting the taxable status of properties and property owners in Monroe County. |
| ● | Calculating the assessed value of each property. The Assessor's office applies the proper assessment ratio to the property so that the property assessment appears on the tax roll. The correct class of the property is determined by the Assessor's office, as prescribed by statute. The different classes of property that are reviewed by this office are Class 1 property, Class 2 property and Class 3 property. Class 1 property is property that is "single family, owner occupied residential property". Class 2 property is all other real estate. Class 3 property is described as personal property in businesses. |
| ● | Preparing and certifying the assessment roll of Monroe County. The Assessor lists all properties in Monroe County and then prints the assessment roll in the form that satisfies statutory requirements for preparation of the Assessment Roll. The Assessor must then prepare a certificate (a form regulated by the State Tax Commission) attesting to the sufficiency of the roll and to compliance with the statutory provision for its preparation. The Assessment Roll is then presented to the Monroe County Board of Supervisors by the statutory date set for its delivery. ( First Monday in July) |
| ● | Notifying owners of the assessed value of their properties. In the past it has been a policy of the Assessor's Office to notify taxpayers of the appraised value of their property when the new appraisal exceeds the previous years value by $2,000.00 appraised value. Appraisal notices are sent out on newly created assessments also. |
| ● | Defending value estimated and valuation methods during appeals by taxpayers. Assessment statutes provide taxpayers with the right to appeal their assessed values. The Assessor's office is always open to the taxpayers request to review their property value at any time of the year. At the time of a formal appeal to the Board of Supervisors, as prescribed in State Law 27-35-89, the Assessor will be prepared to justify all valuations to the satisfaction of the Board of Supervisors and, ideally, to the satisfaction of the taxpayer. In the State of Mississippi assessment statutes require that assessment rolls be prepared annually, because local property taxes are levied annually and must be based on ownership as of January 1 of the year of assessment.
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| ● | The Assessor's office is familiar with traditional appraisal methods, real estate markets, capital markets, and local conditions. The staff has technical and professional skills that are needed for building and applying statistical models; management skills for recruiting, training and directing staff; data processing skills for designing and maintaining computer programs; and public relations skills for dealing with the media and the public. |
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Monroe County Board of Supervisors • P. O. Box 578 • Aberdeen, MS 39730 |
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