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Hart County assessor board member resigns alleging procedural violations; commission reappoints two members
Summary
Jane Ziegler, vice chair of the Hart County Board of Tax Assessors, announced her immediate resignation at the Jan. meeting and outlined multiple alleged governance and Open Meetings violations; the commission heard the county attorney nd then approved appointments to two assessor seats.
Jane Ziegler, who identified herself as vice chair of the Hart County Board of Tax Assessors, resigned from that board "effective immediately" during the county—ommission—oard iscussion, and listed a string of alleged procedural and legal failings she said she had reported to the commissioners.
"Effective immediately, I'm resigning, and I'm formally withdrawing my request for reappointment to the Hart County Board of Tax Assessors," Ziegler said, and then read a list of concerns she said included missing notarized affidavits or minutes for executive sessions, improper agenda notice and open-meetings violations, structural conflicts of interest involving the chamber of commerce, failure to provide a policy-and-procedures manual and certification lapses by a new board member. She cited statutory provisions by their OCGA numbers while urging the board to pursue open-records requests and, if necessary, state-level remedies.
The county attorney, speaking at the meeting, disputed the suggestion that the apparent errors rose to malfeasance. The attorney said the department and assessor staff have improved, praised staff work on the annual tax digest and described some items Ziegler flagged as the product of human error rather than intentional wrongdoing. "I don't think...it rises to the level of malfeasance," the county attorney said, while also advising the board on timelines and the limits of local authority over appointed assessor members.
Commissioners and staff discussed the issues Ziegler raised, including executive-session procedures and the county—oard's ability to address conduct after appointments. The county attorney also warned the commission that hardship variances and other board actions can be subject to mandamus challenges from affected property owners if neighbors or other county residents contest a decision.
While Ziegler said she had supplied documentation to the commission and preserved notices for potential open-records and whistleblower filings, the board moved forward with filling two open seats on the Board of Assessors. After nominations and public comment, David Thompson and Amanda Brown were nominated and the board recorded the appointment votes (voice votes recorded as in favor).
