MonticelloLive

The Drew County Quorum Court met in it’s regular session Monday night. 

The recent property reappraisals have led to many phone calls being made to the assessor’s office and quorum court members.  Taxpayers have until August 18th to notify the assessor’s office of their intention to present their case to the Drew County equalization Board.

Justice of the peace, Danny Lloyd , presented photos of local deer camp.

The building is located out in the county, has an exterior made of galvanized tin, and has a concrete floor.  The photo to the left shows a window unit for air-conditioning, and a stove pipe.

The deer camp’s interior, as shown here, is made of particleboard.  The 60 x 30 foot building is located on one half acre of land.

This property now has an appraised value of $55,500.

Lloyd described the whole reappraisal project with the phrase, “It seems like a tax increase without giving the county  a chance to vote on it.”  He then added, “They can’t sell their property for what it’s assessed for.” 

County Attorney Cliff Gibson told the court that the objective of the reappraisal is to determine the “fair market value”, and then described that as, “What a willing buyer will give a willing seller for their property.”

Again it was pointed out that taxpayers have until August 18 to request a hearing with the equalization board, by contacting the assessor’s office.

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In other business, Judge Damon Lampkin told the court that he recently became aware that some county taxpayers who use CenturyTel telephone service have been having their taxes paid to Desha County, instead of Drew County, by CenturyTel.  CenturyTel has been contacted, but isn’t providing information due to “privacy issues”.  The court said the public needs to be aware of this problem, and Judge Lampkin told them that MonticelloLive published the story Monday morning, and KHBM radio broadcast it as a part of their morning newscasts.

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In other business, the court approved the purchase of a new computer system for the tax assessor’s office. Beth Davis, the county’s tax assessor recommended the bid presented by South Arkansas Business, and also recommending adding the “redundant power supply” as an extra feature, to provide extra protection due to the many power surges that the courthouse experiences.  The court approved the assessor’s choice with a total cost of $5383.51.

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The court appropriated $250 more, in support of the Southeast Arkansas Cornerstone Coalition, above their current contribution of just under $2,000.

————————————Before closing the meeting, the single bid for the 119 East Jackson property’s house was opened.  Kaye Savage placed a $2000 bid for the house, which will have to be moved within 45 days.  Her bid was accepted.  The house is being sold so that the property can be prepared for parking lot expansion at the County Library.It’s