Peach County Hearing Officer Settles Tax Battle, Property Owner Disputes Decision

FORT VALLEY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Peach County property owner is still not satisfied after a hearing officer attempted to settle a dispute between her and the county tax appraiser.

Marilyn McDowell faced representatives from the county today, including the chief tax appraiser, Dennis Lee, in hopes she could appeal for lower taxes.

Instead, Lee offered her a 15 percent tax reduction, which would decrease the assessed value of her property.

The hearing officer added another reduction to Lee’s offer, dropping the fair market value to $1,531,000.

McDowell believes the price range, and amount of money she has to pay for taxes is high, and her properties cannot be assessed like other apartments in the area.

She plans to file for another appeal in less than 30 days, and will continue to appeal until the taxes are significantly lowered.