County’s Tax Value Drops 2.3 Percent

Congressman Travis Childers scheduled a visit with Yalobusha supervisors at Tuesday’s board meeting in Coffeeville. Childers, the former chancery clerk of Prentiss County, told supervisors he enjoyed working with county officials. He also praised supervisors for restoring the county’s two courthouses. “They are the focal point of the county and the downtown areas. It took some political courage to do that,” he added. – Photo by David Howell

By David Howell
Editor

COFFEEVILLE – An annual tradition, Yalobusha County Tax Collector/Assessor Linda Shuffield presented the 2010  tax rolls to supervisors during a Tuesday meeting held in Coffeeville on July 6. The meeting was pushed from the regular “first Monday” date to Tuesday after state and county offices were closed Monday.

    “I think economics are catching up with us,” Shuffield told supervisors as she presented a dismal report compared to previous years. Supervisors learned the total assessed value of the county decreased 2.3 percent, down from last year’s 74,169,067 to 72,426,321 this year.

    Shuffield identified several factors contributing to the decrease including an almost 10 percent drop in the use value set by the Mississippi State Tax Commission for large tract acreage.

    “The roll experienced a great loss because of that value the State Tax Commission set,” Shuffield explained.

    Another big impact was the decline in the assessed value in automobiles in the county, which dropped for the first time in 33 years that Shuffield has worked in the county’s tax office.

    “What we are experiencing in the office is actually more people buying older cars,” Shuffield said. The assessed value on automobiles dropped from 12,511,404 last year to 11,696,502 this year, a 6.5 percent difference.

    Another whammy was a decrease in the construction of new homes in the county. Shuffield said 21 new houses were added to the tax rolls, a number that is exactly half of the new home constructions added in 2009.

    “On a better note we did have an expansion at Windsor Foods that helped,” Shuffield added.

    “Everybody in the whole state is facing the same thing,” District 3 Supervisor M.H. “Butch” Surrette commented.

Personal Property Roll

    Shuffield presented a beat  break-down for the personal property tax roll, which recorded a 7.1 percent decrease compared to the previous year. Beat One had a decrease, 1,596,796. In Beat Two there was a 6,984 decrease. In Beat Three, there was a 25,938 decrease. In Beat Four there was a 548,997 increase. Beat Five recorded a $9,619 increase.

    Shuffield explained that the biggest decrease, recorded in Beat One, was due to the decrease in value in a warehouse, which went from a $4 million value last year to about one million this year.   

Land Roll

    The land roll recorded a slight increase, easing up .22 percent in 2010 to 40,372,444 in assessed value , compared to last year’s value of 40,280,243. Shuffield also provided a break-down for this roll in each beat.  In Beat One, there was a $65,733 increase. In Beat Two, there was a 9,727 decrease. Beat Three had an increase of 92,048. Beat Four recorded the largest increase with 201,325. In Beat Five, there was a 125,712 decrease.
   

Setting The Budget

    The tax assessor-collector’s visit to the Board of Supervisors meeting in Coffeeville was in compliance with state law regulating the tax procedures of county government. That process culminates each year during September when supervisors adopt a budget for the fiscal year, which begins October 1.

   Following the presentation by Shuffield, supervisors passed an order opening real and personal property rolls for inspection and examination by the public. Any objections to the assessments can be made in writing and filed with the clerk of the Board of Supervisors before July 31.

    The board will hear any objections in Water Valley on August 2, at 9 a.m. and in Coffeeville on August 3 at 9 a.m.