Jones County officials move to correct disputed revaluations; request up to $75,000 for assessor office work

A Jones County resident told the board that 9,400 property owners were hit by improper increases in assessed value and asked the county to reverse those changes; appraisal staff and board members said they are working to identify and correct improper overrides and approved a request to seek up to $75,000 from the county commission to fund temporary appraiser help, overtime and staffing needs.

Nikki Parker, a county resident who gave her address during public comment, said the 9,400 increases were “done incorrectly and illegally” and asked the board whether it could reverse those adjustments now rather than waiting for a full revaluation. “It’s grossly unfair for 9,400 property owners to be burdened with property taxes they do not legally owe,” Parker said.

The board and appraisal staff replied that work to correct improper manual overrides is already under way. “Some of the worst of it, which was the override situation, I actually personally went in and have taken off the vast, vast, vast majority of it,” said Mr. Goodman, an appraisal office staff member. Goodman later estimated, “I’ve…