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

Five Consecutive Years of Delayed Billing

Unfortunately, it's what Sumner County residents have come to expect from Tax Assessor John Isbell.  Delays in tax bills, tax bills sent and then re-sent due to errors. Fees and interest paid by local governments due to late preparation of tax bills.

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.”

Inaccuracies Delay Billing:

“The assessor’s tax roll was not prepared accurately because it did not include the accurate amounts to be paid by those residents who qualified for the Property Tax Freeze program,” Comptroller’s Spokesman John Dunn said.

Enacted in 2007, the tax freeze allows counties to give qualifying senior citizens tax incentives. Sumner seniors age 65 or older with an income of $36,220 or less in 2015 will pay the tax rate from their qualifying year  for their primary residence, Dunn said.

Five years of delayed bills. Errors in tax freeze calculation. A 2014 assessment that was done twice due to the number of errors.

That's John Isbell's record.

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

Isbell Faces Questions Over Using Tax Dollars for Politics

Hendersonville News first reported on this site in late January that Sumner County Tax Assessor John Isbell is using his publicly-funded official website for political purposes. Now, local TV station Fox 17 has picked up the story, asking Isbell to justify his actions.

Here's an excerpt from the Fox 17 story:

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."

Isbell doesn't deny that the words are his. He only says he's posting what he sees as "the truth."

In 2014, Isbell came under fire for irregularities in the Sumner County Tax assessment. Rather than admit any mistakes, Isbell has chosen to attack those he perceives as political enemies, apparently even using a taxpayer-funded website to do so.

Since at least January of 2015, Isbell has posted explicitly political messages on his official, taxpayer-funded website. He's not taking them down - he's letting the taxpayers foot the bill.

As the 2016 election for Tax Assessor approaches, will Isbell continue to use taxpayer money for political gain?

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