Budget Season Gets Underway With Presentation Of Tax Rolls
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COFFEEVILLE – Budget season officially got underway Monday as Yalobusha County Tax Assessor/Collector Michael Walton presented the county’s annual tax rolls to supervisors, showing a modest increase in the county’s taxable assessed value over the previous year.
Walton reported the county’s grand assessed value of $117,342,606, less $11,284,863 in homestead exemptions and $13,544,588 in industrial tax exemptions for a actual taxable assessed value of $92,513,155 for the upcoming fiscal year. This is an increase of $2,348,652, or about 2.6 percent from the 2025-2026 fiscal year.
The annual presentation of the tax rolls is one of the first steps in the county’s budget process. The rolls establish the county’s taxable assessed value of land, homes, businesses, automobiles, mobile homes and public utilities after homestead and industrial tax exemptions are deducted. County, municipal and school officials use those assessed values when establishing property tax millage rates for their respective budgets for the coming fiscal year. Because taxes are based on assessed value rather than market value, the figures presented Monday do not represent the actual market value of property in Yalobusha County.
An unusually high number of property transfers this year provided one explanation for the county’s higher taxable assessed value.
“We’ve had 1,052 deed changes,” Walton told supervisors. “We normally average around 700 to 750.”
Walton said the increase in deed changes reflects a growing number of properties changing ownership, often following the death of longtime owners. Many of those properties had qualified for Mississippi’s assessment freeze for homeowners age 65 and older. He explained that when the properties change hands, the assessment freeze no longer applies and the new owner’s taxes are calculated using the full assessment.
Walton told supervisors that this change, combined with new construction and continued appreciation in land values brought an increase in each of the county’s five supervisory district. He also said the increase of $1,141,391 helped offset a slide in personal property values.
Personal property values declined by $789,862 as some industries reported lower taxable values for equipment and other business assets as some industries reported lower taxable values for equipment and other business assets.
Walton said Solero’s assessed personal property value decreased by more than $1 million, while Ajinomoto’s assessed personal property value increased by more than $1 million, offsetting some of the industrial decline. Those figures represent assessed values used for taxation and is not the actual dollar amount of taxes.
With Walton’s presentation of the tax rolls, property owners may now inspect their assessments. Anyone wishing to object to an assessment must file written notice with the Yalobusha County Chancery Clerk’s Office no later than Aug. 4.
Assessment objection hearings will be held at 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 3, at the Water Valley Courthouse and 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at the Coffeeville Courthouse. After considering any objections, supervisors will adopt the final tax rolls. County, municipal and school officials will then use those figures to establish property tax millage rates and finalize budgets for the coming year.
What Is The Assessment Freeze?
Under Mississippi Code Sections 27-33-67 and 27-33-75, homeowners who qualify for the state’s over-65 or disabled homestead exemption receive an assessment freeze on their primary residence, also known in Mississippi law as a homestead.
Once the freeze takes effect, increases in a home’s assessed value resulting from countywide reappraisals generally do not increase the home’s taxable assessed value as long as the homeowner continues to qualify and ownership does not change. The law provides that increases in assessed value attributable to most renovations, expansions or improvements are not protected by the freeze, although certain energy-efficiency, safety and accessibility improvements are exempt from that limitation.
When ownership changes, the assessment freeze no longer applies to the new owner. The property is then assessed under the normal valuation process .
Yalobusha County Tax Assessor/Collector Michael Walton told supervisors an unusually high number of property transfers this year contributed to an increase in the county’s taxable assessed value because many homes lost the assessment freeze when ownership changed.
