Local Radar

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County Council member's property assessments examined; Kitchens exaggerates increase claim

web posted October 30, 2006

COUNTY – The Edgefield County Council has faced tough questions over the reassessments and millage rate increases. The county council has offered little in the way of answers, but they did say they were in the same boat as the rest of the county’s taxpayers when it came to tax increases. Councilman Everett Kitchens said his assessment went up over 80%. EdgefieldDaily.com checked to see if they were telling the truth. It seems the members of the county council did not see the marked increases the rest of the county residents did, far from it.

County Council Chairman Monroe Kneece’s home in Johnston rose a mere 11.4% in value ($88,071 in 2005 to $100,579 in 2006) and his land value saw a simple 5% increase in value from the previous year. His home is located at one the of the most desirable properties in the town on Calhoun Street.

Councilman Norman Dorn’s property showed his home value rising only 12%. In 2005 his home was listed at a value of $104,100 and saw a mild increase to $116,289.

Merriwether Councilman Joel Hudson saw his assessment on his home in Merriwether rise from $139,425 in 2005 to $157,024. A slight 15% increase in value. His land value actually went down from $4,236 to $3,500, or a drop of 12% on the lot.

Mr. Hudson was not the only one to see a drop in land value, Vice-chairman Willie Bright saw a 3% drop in his land value coupled with a 21% increase in assessed value of his home. In 2005 his home was assessed at $70,012 and went up to $85,230. His property value for the acre lot dropped from $5,167 to $5,000.

Councilman Everett Kitchens, who boasted that his taxes went up over 80%, may want to get new batteries for his calculator. According to records his home showed a value of $130,345 in 2005 and increased to $186,898. A more marked increase than the rest of the council members, however, far off his claimed 84% increase. The numbers provided showed a rise of 43%.

Combined together, the Edgefield County Council members saw a lower increase in their assessments than most individuals saw on their own home singularly. The average complaint of a taxpayer is of a 154% increase. Combined the county council members saw an average of a 20.4% increase.

All information gathered from the Edgefield County Tax Assessor’s Office and is current as of October 27, 2006.

EdgefieldDaily.com is also currently obtaining records of other properties of note and the properties next door for comparison. The results should be available soon.



 

EdgefieldDaily.com is a member of the
Edgefield County
Chamber of Commerce

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