MACON, Ga. — Chief Appraiser Andrea Crutchfield says the county's tax digest rose by about 2 1/2 percent.
Carl Fletcher says he's lived in his home in north Macon for over 25 years but his house has never been valued at this much. This year, assessors increased the value of his home from $157,000 to $174,000--up by roughly $17,000.
"They said 'Oh, I see you've enclosed your garage.' This room right here. I said, 'That damn garage was enclosed 25 years ago when I moved here, and y'all are just now noticing that,'" Fletcher said.
Fletcher is one of the roughly 1,100 owners who filed appeals for the values of their property. That's down from last year when the county saw about 1,600 appeals. Crutchfield says the trend of values being up shows the volatility of the market.
"The residential, especially, we have seen sales rise and values rise in just about all areas of Macon-Bibb," Crutchfield said. "It's very good for the homeowner, and of course, it's very good if you're the seller."
But Fletcher says he's still concerned.
"You know people say 'Oh, well... you can sell your house for more right, can they promise me that?" Fletcher said.
Because of the increase in the tax digest, Mayor Miller says he and commissioners will consider rolling back millage rate. That won't be decided on until August.