Jones County officials voted Dec. 29 to change how the county mails business personal-property returns, adopting a policy aimed at reducing administrative costs by limiting annual mailings to accounts with assets above $15,000.

The policy, presented at a special meeting, directs that businesses that previously filed returns and have known assessed assets of $15,000 or more will continue to receive annual returns. Accounts with known assets below $15,000 will be mailed a blank return once every three years. New businesses and newly permitted accounts that have never filed a return will continue to receive annual mailings until their status is established.

Unidentified Speaker 1, who introduced the proposal, said the change responds to recommendations from independent consultants performing the countywide assessment and to avoid spending county resources “for little or no reason.” “It’s not going to be taxed,” the speaker said, referring to accounts below the threshold.

Board members discussed frequency and enforcement. Unidentified Speaker 2 suggested periodic checks—“at least every other year or every 3 years”—to catch businesses that grow into taxable brackets. County staff said they could implement a three-year rotation and that, if internal capacity to audit accounts is insufficient, the county would contract audits. Unidentified Speaker 4 confirmed the office can track a one-third rotation each year.

Unidentified Speaker 2 moved to adopt the proposed business personal-property return process and the motion passed with recorded 'Aye' votes.

Why it matters: The change reduces the administrative burden and mailing costs for the county and for small firms that are unlikely to meet the taxable threshold. It also alters the county’s compliance and audit workload by shifting some work to periodic audits and potential contracted services.

Key details clarified at the meeting: the adopted threshold is $15,000 (accounts known to be below that amount will get returns only once every three years); new businesses continue to receive annual returns; the office will rotate the smaller accounts so roughly one-third are checked each year; and audits will be performed by county staff when feasible or contracted out if needed.

No public comment from the invited speaker 'Mariah' was recorded in the provided transcript segments. The board then moved on and adjourned later in the meeting.