New assessors named

Madison County commissioners named three people to the board of assessors Aug. 6, while reducing the BOA from a five-member to a three-member board.

The new members are Lynn Hix, Ralph McCay Jr. and Janice Ellis.

The commissioners agreed to set lengthy initial terms for two of the three members, so that term expirations will be staggered in the future.

District 1 commissioner Stanley Thomas nominated Hix to the BOA’s longest initial term, saying Hix is involved in and knows the county, shows leadership skills and has a construction business. Hix’s first term will expire Dec. 31, 2014.

District 2 commissioner John Pethel nominated McCay, a farmer, coach and former high school teacher. Pethel said McCay is a lifelong resident of Madison County and has a vast knowledge of appraisals. McCay’s first term will expire Dec. 31, 2013.

District 3 commissioner Mike Youngblood nominated Ellis, a Hull resident and real estate agent, as the final member of the new board, saying Ellis is a 10-year resident of the county and knowledgeable of land values. “She will be a great asset to the county,” he said.

Her first term will expire Dec. 31, 2012.

The nominations followed the BOC’s official termination of four BOA members: David Ragland, Larry Stewart, Samantha Garland and Jim Escoe.

Superior Court Judge John Bailey recently issued a recommendation strongly supporting the BOC’s original termination of the assessor board last April, saying that “this court can hardly find that the BOC’s stated intention to remove these persons from the BOA is hasty of ill-advised.”

Judge Bailey concluded that the BOC’s “starting fresh” is a “good and wise course of action.”

Chairman Anthony Dove opened the meeting Thursday by saying he appreciated the judge’s recommendation, which he called both “complete and decisive.”

The chairman added that he will seek advice from Athens Clarke County chief appraiser George Hanson on a “proper, efficient and functional relationship between the BOC and the BOA.” He will also contact Jim Davis, who like Mr. Hanson, is a prominent member of the State of Georgia Assessors community, for input on the same matters.”

Dove acknowledged that “taxes are not a popular subject.” “In the end, it’s a job that the BOC and BOA must come together to create an environment where taxes are assessed in a timely, fair and uniform way in order to best serve the citizens of Madison County,” said Dove.

Commissioners rejected, by their silence, a written resignation by Stewart, who submitted his resignation to Dove at noon prior to the called meeting.

Stewart took the podium at the end of the special called meeting, acknowledging that it might be a “moot point,” but adding that he wanted the audience to know that he had submitted his resignation, effective at noon that day.

“I want to say one more time that I’ve done the best job I can do as a member of this board, but one person can do only so much,” Stewart said. “I’ve tried to see that the taxpayers were treated fairly, but that’s not always been accomplished.”

In a separate matter Thursday, District 5 commissioner Bruce Scogin asked the board to consider paying attorney fees incurred by the former BOA legal committee, chairman Ragland and Stewart, when they met with attorney Lane Fitzpatrick in April to discuss his possible representation of the BOA. The bills total $515 and $585 respectively. The BOA later agreed to have attorney Rob Leverett represent them at the July 8 hearing before Judge Bailey.

At what turned out to be their final meeting July 30, the BOA agreed to formally submit a request to the county to cover the bills from Fitzpatrick.

County attorney Mike Pruett has already stated that the county will not cover the bills. But Scogin said he was making the request for Fitzpatrick’s bills to be paid anyway “so that we can totally dispense with this matter.

The BOC agreed to discuss the matter at their Aug. 31 agenda-setting meeting.

Scogin also told his fellow board members that he hopes the board and the county can move forward without holding grudges.

“I hope we can go on with our lives and be at peace with one another,” he said.