A property tax policy group, which is formulating legislation to restructure the property tax system in Georgia under the direction of Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, met for the first time Dec. 16.

Three Cherokee County residents are members of the group: Clint Mueller, the legislative director of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG); Steven Swindell, deputy chief appraiser / senior residential appraiser for Cherokee County; and Larry Singleton, founder of My Property Tax Appeal LLC.

The group will serve in an advisory capacity for proposed legislation designed to continue the transformation of Georgia’s property tax code. Other members of the Property Tax Policy Group include: Cobb County Tax Assessor Phil Hogsed; Fulton County Taxpayers Association representative R.J. Morris; tax attorney Roger Land and tax attorney Wheeler Bryan.

The goal of the working group is to identify every facet of the property tax system that could be improved and streamlined, Rogers said. Working to remove human error in the entire process will be a major priority, he added.

“The collection of taxes should be fair, transparent and easy to understand. Unfortunately, Georgia’s property tax system is none of those things,” Rogers said. ‘The passage of SB 346 in 2010 was a major step forward in streamlining the property tax appeal process and making it more transparent for the taxpayer. The members of this working group are among the most knowledgeable in Georgia on the property tax process. I am thankful they have volunteered their time to help us reform our assessment, appeal and taxation system so that it is beneficial for all Georgians.”

Mueller said he was pleased the group’s meeting last month represented various viewpoints.

“I applaud Rogers for not trying to craft legislation in a vacuum,” he said. “There were all sorts of property tax experts there.”

Mueller said it’s important to protect the concept of local property tax because it’s the only form of revenue for which the local government is not reliant on the state.

“The system needs to be as fair as possible,” he said. “We’re in a whole different environment than we were – questions come up that were not issues when it was a growing market.”

Mueller said retired longtime General Assembly tax attorney Joe Sheuer, also a Cherokee resident, would be assisting the policy group, and that the group would utilize his experience writing legislation.

Swindell recently was elected president of the Georgia Association of Assessing Officials (GAAO).

“I agree with the senator that we’ve made some good strides with SB 346 in providing better solutions to the property tax appeal process.  I also agree that there is always room for improvement in the overall tax assessment process,” he said.  “I’m hoping to focus on the issues of increasing Georgia Department of Revenue oversight of assessment administration, supporting the Georgia Department of Revenue in modernizing the education program for assessors and Board of Equalization members, and ways to improve the deed information assessors receive in order to better comply with the one-year transaction amount lock-in provision passed in SB 346.”

The Georgia General Assembly 2012 session begins Jan. 9.