Upson County to file formal complaint over possible Board of Equalization conflict as tax appeals backlog mounts
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
The county’s tax commissioner told commissioners the county faces more than 450 property tax appeals and must hold 15% of collected payments pending decisions; the board voted to file a formal conflict-of-interest complaint about a recently appointed BOE member and to take the matter to the grand jury.
Upson County commissioners voted to file a formal complaint alleging a conflict of interest by a recently appointed member of the county’s Board of Equalization, after the tax commissioner told the board the county is facing an unusually large backlog of property tax appeals.
“The stack right here represents over 450 appeals,” the tax commissioner told the board, adding that the volume is far above the typical 30–50 appeals in a year. The commissioner said the county is collecting many accounts at 85% while appeals are unresolved and must plan for possible refunds, estimating the appeals represent “over $200,000” in potential tax revenue and warning that refunds incur interest set at “prime plus 3%.”
Appeals administrator Teresa briefed commissioners on scheduling and training constraints, saying Department of Revenue BOE training is a mandatory 40-hour program offered only a few times a year that runs Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m., which limits how quickly hearings can be scheduled. She estimated the BOE can realistically hear roughly 12–15 appeals per day, meaning the current docket could take many weeks to clear.
Several commissioners raised concerns about a newly appointed BOE member who also serves in a city role that could create the appearance of a conflict when adjudicating county properties. Staff said Department of Revenue guidance treats that appointee as not an elected official and advised that the only path for removal is to file a formal complaint and have the grand jury consider it. The board voted, by roll call, to amend the agenda and authorize filing the complaint with the clerk so staff can present it to the grand jury.
County staff said the backlog is creating extra administrative work — manually calculating partial collections, entering adjustments and preparing refund checks — and will increase mailing and staffing costs. Commissioners asked staff to explore remedies, including adding BOE alternates, scheduling additional training slots and studying regional BOE options that would require intergovernmental agreements.
Next steps: staff will file the formal complaint through the clerk’s office per the board motion and return to the board with additional options to address scheduling, recruitment and budget impacts from the appeals backlog.