A recently completed countywide reappraisal project will result in higher property taxes for many Carroll County residents, but there is some good news.
Dennis Wells, the Carroll County appraisal manager for Arkansas CAMA Technology Inc., told the county quorum court at its regular meeting on Monday, June 20, that property values in the county have increased significantly in the five years since the last reappraisal was conducted.
ACT is a private company that was contracted by the county to conduct the reappraisal project.
“Everything has gone up,” Wells said. “Property values are going up. Taxes are going up.”
However, Wells said, anyone whose property taxes are “frozen” — those 65 and older and those considered disabled by the Social Security Administration — will see no change in their tax bill. Additionally, state law stipulates that taxes on owner-occupied properties may only increase by 5 percent per year until an assessment of 20 percent of the parcel’s appraised value has been reached.
Wells said notices will be mailed to property owners on July 15.
“I think that’s a Friday,” he said. “Everybody gets to stew about it over the weekend before they can start calling.”
Property owners with questions about the values listed for their properties can contact appraisers employed by ACT and can appeal their appraisals to the Board of Equalization.
ROAD PROBLEM
During public comments, JPs heard from Barbara Weems, a lifelong county resident who has been a property owner on County Road 205 for eight years.
Weems said the road has always been well-maintained by the county but in the past six months the road has been damaged by heavy rains and a culvert has been washed out, leaving one neighbor unable to drive on or off her property. There was some question among JPs about whether the road is actually a designated county road, but District 10 JP Larry Swofford said County Judge Ronda Griffin said she would investigate the issue.
“This is basically all up to the county judge and she said she’s going to look into it,” Swofford said.
“Well, that’s a wonderful resolution,” Weems said. “Thank you.”
“We will check into it,” Griffin said.
POWER SURGE
JPs also heard a report from Mike McKelvey, the county’s emergency management director, about a power surge at the county law enforcement complex that knocked the dispatch system offline for about 12 hours beginning around 1 a.m. Tuesday, June 14.
Calls to 911 were rolled to Madison County and Eureka Springs dispatchers were able to communicate with fire departments on the western side of the county.
Handheld radios were eventually used to restore communications with fire districts on the eastern side of the county, but dispatchers still could not communicate with deputies and other law enforcement.
Ultimately, portable radios using magnetic antennas were set up to communicate with law enforcement.
McKelvey said the source of the power surge was identified as an air conditioning unit on the roof of the building.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, JPs approved:
■a resolution approving the reappointment of Pamela Grudek to the Carroll County Board of Equalization;
■an appropriation ordinance allowing road department employee Jerry Finch to be paid for vacation time in lieu of taking time off from work, with District 4 JP Duane Coatney casting the lone dissenting vote and arguing that paying overtime would be a better solution to the road department’s staffing issues;
■a supplemental appropriation ordinance designating $2,570 for an upgrade to the control access system at the Eastern District Annex building;
■an appropriation ordinance designating $281,436 to replace the roof at the Carroll County Detention Center, with County Clerk Connie Doss explaining outside the meeting that federal pandemic funding indirectly paid for the roof replacement because a portion of the federal money had been used to reimburse the sheriff’s office for employee wages;
■a resolution appointing Katie Zerr to the Eureka Springs Library board, replacing Martha Fargo;
■and a resolution appointing Joe Hill to replace Fargo on the Carroll County Library board.
The Carroll County Quorum Court’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. Monday, July 18, at Southern Heights Baptist Church, 279 Arkansas 221 South in Berryville.
