Property Tax Assessment Appeals

Sumner County Assessor of Property John Isbell explains the property tax assessment appeals process after an assessment cycle many homeowners have found lacking in accurate information.

According to Isbell in the Hendersonville Standard:

Now that all assessment change notices have been mailed to citizens, the next step towards setting the certified property tax rate is the appeals process.

The appeals process allows anyone who disagrees with the new valuation of their property to have their situation re-evaluated.

Informal appeals can be filed until June 4 by calling the assessor’s office at 615-452-2412 or by filling out an e-form at wevaluesumner.com. The site also gives the date and time that members of the assessor’s office will be offsite to answer property valuation questions.

Isbell has faced questions in recent years regarding the way his office conducts assessments.

In 2016, delayed billing was noted as a problem:

Tennessee's Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury weighed-in recently and noted:


“We know of no other counties that have had this magnitude of a problem as it relates to the tax freeze and tax billing,” Mumpower (of the Comproller's Office) said. “And certainly not a reoccurring problem as you have seen here, which have included five consecutive years of delayed tax billing.”

Isbell also faced complaints about his use of a publicly-funded website for political purposes:

Log on to the Sumner County web page for Assessor of Property John Isbell and you'll find a link for more information about the recent property tax reappraisal.
That page is attracting criticism from Sumner County residents like Dan Wright who feel its content amounts to a political attack on the public's dime.
"Absolutely it's political yeah. From what I see it's political defense," said Wright.
The part Wright believes is political involves direct attacks towards County Executive Anthony Holt calling him a "Pro-Tax Increase Bureaucrat."
The page also accuses Holt of holding "secret meetings" and "wasting taxpayer dollars" and towards the end of the page accuses him of conduct that's akin to "the worst kind of public servant."

In the face of concerns over Isbell's inability to accurately conduct assessments, residents are encouraged to appeal in order to receive a fair assessment.

For more on news impacting Hendersonville and Sumner County, follow @HvilleNews

Taxpayers Assessed for Political Rant

Sumner County Property Assessor John Isbell, who came under fire last year for irregularities in the assessment process, is now using his taxpayer-funded website to advance his personal political agenda.

Isbell, who is up for re-election in 2016, has been fighting for his political life via social media under the auspices of the "Sumner Sentinel."

Now, he's taken his politics to his Assessor's Office website, which is paid for and maintained with public funds.

At the website sumnerassessor.org, Isbell explains the 2014 reappraisal process and notes:

 So why is a small group of pro tax increase bureaucrats led by Anthony Holt so driven to return to state-controlled property valuation in Sumner County? The answer is politics. Their intent is to manipulate the process to increase the assessment base thus increasing taxes on the citizens who are just now starting to recover from what many called the Great Recession of 2009.

A direct political attack on one of Isbell's detractors -- paid for by Sumner County taxpayers.

The disclaimer at the bottom of the page indicates the page is the property of Sumner County Government. That means it belongs to all taxpayers, not just Mr. Isbell.

Isbell continues his rant by referring to County Executive Anthony Holt simply as Anthony and unleashing a litany of attacks:

Anthony, in a recent meeting with the ladies of the Sumner County Republican Party, accepted full responsibility for the recent tax increase. "…I want you to know today, you can hold me responsible — hold me personally responsible. I do not want to shirk my responsibility." If Anthony accepts full responsibility for the tax increase why does he want to continue to try to blame the reappraisal process which has been validated as accurate and legal on three different occasions? Anthony will tell you that, in Sumner County, revenue-neutral means a tax increase. Unfortunately Anthony misunderstands the very basics of the reappraisal process and through his attempts to speak as an authority on the process only misinforms the public. Unfortunately Sumner County taxpayers have endured five months of uncertainty as Anthony held secret meetings, conspired with state bureaucrats, and wasted taxpayer dollars exceeding $100,000 to politically manipulate the process which resulted in his actions being grounded in general ignorance of the process. While the tax vote may be legal, it was certainly not conducted with any standards of transparency and ethical standing. Anthony stands as the self-appointed leader of this standard of transparency and ethical behavior for the new commission.

So, it's safe to say there's some bad blood between Isbell and Holt. But attacks like this belong on a political website paid for by a politicians supporters -- not on a publicly-funded, taxpayer supported site.

Isbell goes to great lengths on the public site to justify the recent assessment and his actions. He may have some valid arguments to make. The question is: Should John Isbell's political arguments be advanced by Sumner County taxpayers or John Isbell's supporters?

For more on news impacting Hendersonville, follow @HvilleNews

Sumner County Tax Rate Comparison

In light of the recently adjusted Sumner County tax rate, here's a comparison of Sumner County's rate of $2.50 per $100 of assessed value relative to other counties in Middle Tennessee:

Sumner:             $2.50

Cheatham:         $2.78

Montgomery:    $3.14

Robertson:        $2.96

Rutherford:       $2.56

Wilson:             $2.57

Chris Taylor Takes on the Budget

County Commissioner Chris Taylor has prepared a 6-page document that explains the reasoning behind the new property tax rate of $2.50.

Taylor uses charts and graphs and straightforward explanation to note why the County Commission set the rate where it did.

Here are a few highlights:

1) The property tax rate had not been raised or adjusted for inflation since 2003. Real purchasing power has declined by about 21 cents on the dollar over that time period. That means the county brings in the same dollar amount and it buys less and less each year.

2) The previous County Commission borrowed over $22 million from various reserve funds over the past 5 years to make up for the deficit budgets they were running.

3) The County Insurance Trust was bailed out using reserve funds in 2013 and will need another $3 million bailout to remain solvent in 2015. The Commission intends to correct this problem going forward by charging an appropriate rate for benefits and by properly funding the employee portion of benefits

4) Each 1 cent increase on the tax rate generates roughly $400,000

5) Operating funds for schools, including the new Burrus Elementary, account for nearly 18 cents of the increase

6) An additional portion of the increase will be used to pay for capital projects at schools, including a building plan that will both increase space at existing facilities and repair aging HVAC systems.

7) There are 700-800 people in Sumner County without running water. It will cost roughly $30 million to correct this problem -- but once fixed, it will have long-term health and economic development benefits.

YES - you did just read that there are homes in part of Sumner County that in 2014 do NOT have running water. 

The rate was set at $2.50 so as to allow for projected growth and adjust for inflation over time. In other words, the current County Commission did not want to just cover expenses and be faced with a crisis again next year. This rate, explains Taylor, will allow for growth and the accumulation of reserves.

Read his full presentation here.

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