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Assessors chairman says no to resignation request

Posted by
Sherri Ellington
in Top Stories
Thursday, January 14. 2010
Comments (26)
In the wake of demands by county commissioners that they resign, assessors chairman Lisa Dziedzic declined to do so.

Assessor David Dodd said he would resign after the Jan. 14 meeting – but he would not hand his resignation to the county clerk as required. Instead, he will give it to commissioner Nancy Thrash.

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#1 Anonymous on 01/14/10 at 05:31 PM
Good for you Lisa. That's a common sense answer and why one commissioner did not go along! It does not make sense to quit and have an untrained replacement in for several months. Especially when it will just be someone's buddy.
#1.1 anonymous on 01/14/10 at 07:16 PM
George Brown, is that you?? you need to be cleaning out your office.
#1.1.1 Joe on 01/14/10 at 10:03 PM
If you have something to say then why don'y you say it with meaning. Use something other than anonymous. Otherwise your bold statement means crap! Don't you realize that no one will stand behind a coward?
#1.1.1.1 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 08:48 AM
Ok "Joe". Do you know how many "Joe"s there are in Barnesville. If thats even your real name. So pointing out anonymity on the internet is useless. Find something else to complain about.
#1.1.1.1.1 Joe on 01/15/10 at 06:42 PM
Stop using my name. I'm the real Joe.
#1.1.1.1.1.1 Joe on 01/15/10 at 08:36 PM
I'm a real Joe 2.
#2 Anonymous on 01/14/10 at 05:50 PM
Getting a new board will only fix half the problem. Linda Mayo is the other half of the problem that must go as well.
#2.1 Anonymous on 01/14/10 at 06:47 PM
A few people don't like Mayo because she does her job. No one likes the person who says how much they will owe when the person is fair and even handed to all. Mayo's job is to set the values using the same standards for all. It was always the Board of Assessors who screwed things up by adjusting values down for their friends and neighbors. Even a past Tax Commissioner tried to influence values and one commissioner was going to get her on the board. If she couldn't keep her nose out of the appraiser's business that is supposed to be totally independent of any influence she sure doesn't need to be even closer.
#3 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 05:56 AM
Well I as a citizen of Lamar County would like to call for the resignation of all the commissioners including Jay, for not continuing the fight against the land field after all they are the ones that created this mess.
#4 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 06:55 AM
Is our county not in a mess?
#5 LaShondriatron on 01/15/10 at 07:48 AM
Somebody get a judge on the phone...end this mess. If it takes a judge to remove these "team players" then I hope the county moved on it yesterday. Lisa D. will be gone soon enough and may I suggest that Realtors not be included in the fray next time? An argument could be made that their service could be a conflict of interest. And one more thing, Commissioners, this county is filled with wonderful people who would't mind public service. Dig deeper in the pile next time.
#5.1 Anon on 01/15/10 at 09:05 AM
Where I can see where many people may believe that a Realtor on the board creates a conflict of interest, that argument doesnt seem to make much sense. Realtors help homeowners list their property at prices that should be market driven - if they are completely honest with their client. The assessors taxed value means diddle, especially in our current market, as to what a buyer will pay for a property. Why would an assessor what to increase property values, to justify listing properties at a higher value, only to waste their advertising dollars marketing a property that everyone in the world knows is overpriced. This senario doesnt make any sense. I believe Realtors are often selected for these jobs because they already should have an understanding of how property valuation is determined. But it doesnt really matter to me, if they want to exclude certain people they should include their restrictions before they look for new members. Heck, maybe there is a legitimate conflict of interest, I just wonder what people believe it is, because the only senario I have heard suggested is the one I included above and I don't believe that one has any real merit. I dont know why anyone would want to be an assessor, it seems no matter what decision they make its going to upset half of the county.
#5.2 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 09:14 AM
Explain how being a realtor affect her job as an assessor. They know the true value of land more than anyone.
#5.3 Kim on 01/15/10 at 03:46 PM
Amen. There are good people in Lamar county that are competent to handle a variety of county jobs, but unfortunately, "The good ole boy system" is alive and well, and outsiders.. that have moved into Lamar are not considered before family, regardless of how qualified they are for the job.
#6 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 08:01 AM
It looks as though it is but unfortunately its our country as well as county. Thats why if you are up for election this year and you are an incumbent you will not be getting my vote, I don't care who's running against them.
#6.1 M.S. on 01/15/10 at 10:02 AM
Ok that's just ignorant.
#7 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 09:41 AM
Why does this having to turn into a peeing contest. sheesh... if you are "asked" to resign. Keep what little dignity you have and make a graceful exit.

If someone did this to me and I thought they were doing the wrong thing, I'd step aside and then wait for it to all blow up in their face, smiling smugly all the while.

Obviously, if I read this article correct, this comes as no surprise to them. They'd already been asked to resign before and evidently refused to do so.

As for outside interference, Ha! Any public office of any source in any county is subject to outside interference. It's one of the reasons why a news reporting is so important.
#7.1 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 10:05 PM
The law says a judge has to tell them to quit. The reason for that is to prevent the Commissioners from influencing their actions. It looks like two people on the commission want to appoint some better puppets.
#8 Anonymous on 01/15/10 at 11:27 AM
This goes to show how little people know about taxes. The amount the community will pay is nearly the same whether all our houses are valued at 10% of the value or 1000% of the value. The absolute number does not matter.

What does matter is how those values compare to each other. For example if the people on Thomaston Street are undervalued compared to people on Greenwood St, people on Greenwood would pay a disproportionate amount of tax money for their houses compared to Thomaston Street. If Barnesville or an area of Barnesville is underestimated compared to other areas, let's say because Royce Rollins or someone else on the board or Jay Bird or Gene Mean or someone on the commissioners pushed the appraiser to have values reduced or pushed to have a recent revaluation thrown out, then everyone else pays disproportionately more tax.

You don't personally "save tax money" by having a low value unless others have a disproportionately high value.

This is why Linda Mayo need to be left alone to do things as she has been educated to do without the Board of Assessors dogging her out other than double checking to be sure she is applying the same standards across the entire county. This is why the commissioners dogging her out, and someone from a totally different area (like a former Tax Commissioner) poking her nose into where it does not belong, is uncalled for.

When these people start pushing values down differently for some special people then we all pick up the slack.

What would work best for most people would be people who are even handed about what they do and are not influenced or pressured by anyone else. If they all estimate high or low it is no big deal as long as they estimate everyone equally high or equally low.
#9 Anonymous on 01/18/10 at 02:08 PM
you are right on george brown. I don't think enough of him to CAPITALIZE his name!
#10 Anonymous on 01/19/10 at 07:01 AM
Everyone wants someone else to blame for the problems they make for themselves. A guy shows up late for work and he gets fired and it is his bosses fault. They buy a fancy showcase house in a nice neighborhood and they want to pay trailer tax rates so they get mad at the tax board. The real wrong here was two commissioners trying to remove people that the law says can only be removed by a judge. Those two commissioners need removed.
#11 anonymous on 01/21/10 at 03:33 PM
The law you refer to stating a judge has the only right to remove the board, where is that located? I would like to read it.
#11.1 anon on 01/21/10 at 04:15 PM
Wish folks would learn to do their own research! Or, stop being so lazy!

From Ga Code Section 48-5-295, paragraph (b)

(b) A member of the county board of tax assessors may be removed by the county governing authority only for cause shown for the failure to perform the duties or requirements or meet the qualifications imposed upon such member by law including, but not limited to, the duties, requirements, and qualifications specified pursuant to Code Section 48-5-295.1 and subsection (e) of Code Section 48-5-262. No member of the board who is also employed by the county as a staff appraiser under Code Section 48-5-262 and no member whose removal is attempted based on this subsection may be removed by the county governing authority during such member's term of appointment until the member has been afforded an opportunity for a hearing before the judge of the superior court of the county for recommendations by the judge of the superior court to the county governing authority regarding such removal.


So, I guess the law doesn't state board member can only be removed by a judge BUT must be afforded a hearing in front of the judge.
#11.1.1 anonymous on 01/22/10 at 09:49 PM
Thank you. The Lamar county commissioners (governing body) may remove members of the board of tax assessors for failing to perform their duties. The members of the board of tax assessors can demand a hearing from the superior crt. judge if they are employed by the county as a staff appraiser under code 48-5-262 or the removal is based on the subsection of this code. At that time the judge is allowed to offer recommendations to the commissioners regarding their removal. You might be wise and not lazy, but you sure can't read. Forget about eating crow. Open mouth insert foot.
#12 Anonymous on 01/22/10 at 04:47 PM
STAY TUNED FOLKS! I HEAR THIS IS ABOUT TO GET REAL INTERESTING!!!! SOME FOLKS WILL HAVE TO EAT SOME CROW AS WELL AS ONE PARTICULAR COMMISSIONER.
#13 Anonymous on 01/23/10 at 08:24 PM
Lisa is a gonner. Just watch and see. Next one to go is Linda, then Holly, then Heather.
Good bye!
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