Local Radar

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More questions found in assessments of county officials' properties

web posted November 1, 2006

COUNTY – Wanted, one beautiful 1,632 square foot brick home on 2.56 acres of land in Merriwether for just over $25,000. Impossible you say? Not if you are Edgefield County Economic Development Committee member Bill Hixon. He owns the home at 770 Murrah Road, in the middle of Merriwether, and has an assessment set at a mere $25,443. Do you wonder what the Historic 3,435 square foot birthplace home of Strom Thurmond on Columbia Road in Edgefield is valued? $135,407

As EdgefieldDaily.com continues to search tax records the more it seems that certain people are getting a far better deal on their taxes than most. When EdgefieldDaily.com ran the results of the Edgefield County Council members property assessments, some people began to take notice and began complaining to the Tax Assessor’s Office.

Complaints came in about Councilman Everette Kitchens having a nice big barn constructed on his property in the past few years that was missing from the tax rolls. A formal complaint was filed against councilman Willie Bright for having a full basement converted into a living area that he allows a family member to live in that also was not on the books nor assessed.

As for Mr. Hixon’s house in Merriwether, the Murrah Road home is valued at a drastically low rate of $15.59 a square foot. A 2,406 home in Merriwether with vinyl siding rates a value of $67.99 a square foot with just one acre of land. In 2003 through 2005 the value placed on the Hixon property was also low and under market when it appeared at just $36,512. Mr. Hixon’s property value, unlike all others in Merriwether, went down this year an astonishing 30%.

What did the county place as a value per square foot for the Historic birth home of Strom Thurmond in Edgefield? A meager $39.41 per foot. To be fair, the home located next door was valued at a rate of $41.20 a square foot, but without the historic significance.

EdgefieldDaily.com is continuing our look into elected, appointed, and other political figures to spotlight the discrepancies in the recent reassessments. Please send us your square foot assessments for comparison in upcoming articles. If you are unsure, send us the information from your assessment and the square footage of your home and we will do the rest. E-mail the information to editor@edgefielddaily.com



 

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