Property taxes went up? Hilbish explains why

Phones have been ringing non-stop at the Marengo County Revenue Commission since letters from the Board of Equalization went out last week showing the 2022 property tax estimates.

It’s a time every four years that Sharon Hilbish, Revenue Commissioner, has come to dread. She understands the frustration of property owners who don’t want to have to pay more taxes, especially now that the price of everything is going up. She stresses the taxes on the value of property in the county is tied to the index set by the State of Alabama.

“I don’t get paid by commission,” said Hilbish, who has served as Revenue Commissioner for 10 years and for seven years before then as a clerk in the office.

Every four years each county must go through reappraisals, Hilbish explained. The appraiser for Marengo County reviews 25 percent of the property each year so that the entire county is covered in a four-year period.

Appraisers check the land value and improvements, study new construction costs and find out what properties are selling for. State analysts compile all the information and set the index that is used to determine taxes.

The index will stay in place for the next four years, but Hilbish said trending factors can affect  the value of the property.

For instance, she said, in 2020, two years after the last index was set, Linden had a trending figure of a negative 17 percent, which lowered taxes considerably.

Anyone who has a farm and uses it for row crops, pasture or timber, “get a huge break by signing up for current use,” she continued.

Her office also sends out letters to inform new owners to apply for homestead exemption or current use. Letters also are mailed whenever property is sold, the acreage changes or the appraised value changes.

Hilbish encouraged anyone with questions about the letter to call her office at 334-395-2214. “We’ll go over it with you,” she said, and make sure the property owner has all the eligible deductions.

Anyone who wants to protest the amount of taxes owned has 30 days from the date of the notice to file a complaint.