Newspaper Page Text
6A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, May 31,2023
Ex-DCN co-owner Swartz dies
From staff reports
J.D. Swartz, a former
co-owner of the Forsyth
County News and
Dawson County News,
died Thursday in his
native Tennessee. He
was 87.
Swartz and business
partner Charles Morris
Sr. purchased the Forsyth
County newspaper, along
with papers in Dawson
County and Barrow
County, from the New
York Times Company in
January 1994. Swartz
remained affiliated with
the Forsyth and Dawson
publications until they
were purchased by cur
rent owner Metro Market
Media in 2018.
Swartz had a long and
successful career in
newspapers and media
with nationwide impact
on the industry.
After graduating high
school in his native
Johnson City, TN,
Swartz served three
years in the Merchant
Marines before entering
the newspaper business.
He began his newspa
per career with an entry
level job as a classified
ad salesman in Bristol,
TN in 1958. He rose
from that humble begin
ning to become president
of Worrell Newspapers,
which owned 23 daily
newspapers, 14 weekly
newspapers and three
television stations when
it was sold to the New
York Times company in
1982. He had joined
Worrell as a publisher
and vice president in
1975.
After Worrell was sold,
J.D. Swartz
Swartz joined with long
time friend Morris,
owner of Morris
Multimedia headquar
tered in Savannah, to
form Swartz-Morris
Media and to purchase
the north Georgia publi
cations.
“J.D. was a dear
friend, excellent business
partner and outstanding
owner and operator of
newspapers,” said
Charles H. Morris Sr.
Swartz also had an
impact on the career of
Charles H. Morris Jr.,
owner of Metro Market
Photo submitted to DCN
Media which now owns
the Forsyth and Dawson
newspapers.
“J.D. was an amazing
mentor, teacher and dear
family friend. He will be
missed by many, and I
am grateful for the influ
ence he played in my life
and the lives of others,”
said Charles H. Morris
Jr.
Former FCN publisher
Dennis Stockton was
hired by Swartz-Morris
to oversee the papers
purchased in 1994 and
worked closely with
Swartz.
“I’ve known J.D. for
more than 30 years and
worked for him for 20.
He was a huge influence
on me, both profession
ally and personally. He
was the most generous
person I’ve ever known
and made me part of his
family. I will definitely
miss him,” said Stockton.
John Hall, another for
mer FCN publisher, also
spoke warmly of his
working relationship
with Swartz.
“Throughout my
career, so many of my
colleagues knew of Mr.
Swartz. I was fortunate
enough to have the privi
lege of actually working
with him, and for that I
am thankful. He was
almost legendary in the
newspaper business,”
said Hall.
In addition to newspa
per ownership, Swartz
also formed Swartz
Media Consultants,
which provided consult
ing services to media
companies and was a
newspaper broker.
A long-time resident
of Johnson City, he was
active in the community
there, serving on the
board of directors for
many community organi
zations, as well as the
Bank of Tennessee.
He served on the East
Tennessee State
University Business
Board of Advisors as
well as the ETSU
Foundation and the
President’s Trust. ETSU
bestowed him with the
title of Honorary Alumni
in 1995.
County to hold
Movies in Park
event on June 2
On Friday June 2, Dawson County will host its spring
Movies in the Park event, offering a family-friendly movie
and fun activities for all ages.
According to information provided by Dawson County
Parks and Recreation, the June event will feature a screen
ing of the 2022 “Puss in Boots” movie and will take place
at War Hill Park, which is located at 4081 War Hill Park
Road.
The event is free for anyone to attend and activities will
begin at 6 p.m., with the movie beginning at dusk.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs
or blankets to sit on.
Other activities at the event will include vendors, prizes
and a bounce house. This time, there will be no conces
sions available at the event other than ice cream and snow
cones, so attendees are encouraged to bring their own
food, drinks and snacks. Alcohol and glass bottles are not
allowed, and the only animals allowed at the event will be
service animals.
For more information about the upcoming event, go to
www.dawsoncountyga.gov/parksrec/page/movies-
park%E2%84%A2.
Erica Jones
Help local high schoolers
by sponsoring a show pig
Dawson County High School’s Future Farmers of
America (FFA) program is about to begin its hog show
season for the 2023-24 school year and is seeking show
pig sponsors. Here’s how you can help sponsor students in
the club to raise high-quality pork for your freezer.
According to information provided by FFA Advisor
Keith Pankey, sponsorship for the upcoming hog show
season is $700 per pig. This price covers the cost of the
pig and feed for FFA students to raise it during the season.
At the end of the hog show season, FFA students will
arrange processing fees for the sponsor and transport the
hog to processing. Sponsors will pay the processing fees.
“This is a great opportunity for kids to get to show a
market hog and for a sponsor to have good, wholesome
pork for the freezer,” Pankey said.
For more information or to become a sponsor, contact
Pankey by email at kpankey@dawson.kl2.ga.us or by
calling 706-273-8795.
Erica Jones
A guide to property tax assessment appeals process
DCN file photo
By the numbers
Residential parcels where property values rose: 12,779
out of 14,202 or approximately 90%.
Average increase in residential property value: 36.95%
Average increase in individual homes or residential
improvement values: 41.96%
By Julia Hansen
jhansen@dawsonnews.com
Many Dawson County land-
owners are expressing sticker
stock after getting their estimated
property tax bills this past week.
“I believe the toughest part of
this process for taxpayers, myself
included, is getting the notice
with the estimated taxes on it
based on the previous year’s mill-
age rate,” Dawson County Chief
Appraiser Elaine Garrett said in a
May 23 email. “The Board of
Education and the Board of
Commissioners have not set the
millage rate for this year.”
DCN has compiled a guide to
help property owners navigate the
assessment appeals process.
When were
assessments sent?
The county sent out annual
property tax assessments on May
16.
What office sends out
assessments? Who col
lects property taxes?
That would be the Tax
Assessor’s Office, which is
tasked with assessing property at
fair market value according to
state-set standards.
The Tax Commissioner’s
Office is responsible for billing,
collecting and disbursing local
taxes, in addition to their motor
vehicle tag and tide duties.
What's the deadline for
appealing?
People can appeal their assess
ment notices until June 29, 2023,
according to the Dawson County
Tax Assessor’s webpage.
How can you appeal?
People can appeal their assess
ments by completing the appeal
form listed under the Tax
Assessor’s “Supporting
Documents” and submitting it in
person or by mail.
The form can be mailed to:
Dawson County Tax Assessor, 25
Justice Way, Ste. 1201,
Dawsonville, GA 30534
After receiving the assessment
notice, a property owner can
appeal within 45 days of receipt-
in this case, by June 29.
That appeal is then filed with
the county’s Board of Tax
Assessors, who then reviews it.
For this part, a county property
appraiser will visit the property to
review it and verify the informa
tion the county has on record.
Following this review, the
board tells the taxpayer of its
decision. If the board makes no
changes, an appeal would auto
matically be sent on to the coun
ty’s Board of Equalization. That
board then schedules and con
ducts a hearing to render a deci
sion.
A taxpayer still in disagree
ment with the assessment may
appeal to the Superior Court, an
arbitrator or hearing officer. The
Board of Tax Assessors has more
details about this procedure.
What about
exemptions?
April 1 is the deadline for filing
specialized or senior exemptions.
No extension has been given to
apply for any type of exemption,
Exemption applications must be
done in person, the tax assessor’s
webpage stated.
While regular homestead
exemption applications can be
taken year-round, those forms
must be turned in by April 1 in
order for a landowner to receive
an exemption that tax year.
What's the math behind
property taxes?
Property taxes are determined
as an ad valorem tax or according
to value. Another key factor in
your bill is the tax or millage rate.
A one-mill tax rate means a tax
liability of $1 per $1,000 of
assessed property value, which is
40% of the actual fair market
value.
The Board of Commissioners
most recently rolled back the
county’s millage rate to 7.2225
mills, (.0072225) while the Board
of Education scaled back theirs to
14.2 mills (.0142).
The Dawsonville City Council
has consistently voted to roll back
the city’s millage rate to zero in
recent years.
The assessed value is multi
plied by the millage rate as a dec
imal to calculate the estimated
county or school system property
taxes.
Millage rates have not yet been
set for this year and tend to be set
in the July-to-August timeframe,
District 2 Commissioner Chris
Gaines said in a May 23 phone
call.
“When a tax digest goes up,
there is a rollback form complet
ed each year to let the taxing
authorities know what millage
rate would provide a net neutral
gain from the previous year. That
does not mean that either will or
should roll it back to this
amount,” Garrett said.
However, the chief appraiser
did call the millage rates “the last
piece of the puzzle for all of our
tax bills for 2023.”
“We have to include the esti
mate of taxes by law yet the
appeals are based on value and
uniformity. “If your value is cor
rect, we have done our job. If you
believe the value is incorrect, then
please appeal before the deadline
so we have an opportunity to look
over your concern and correct [it]
if needed,” Garrett added. “As far
as the taxes go, we all have to
wait to see what the final millage
rates are before we actually know
what impact they will have.”
Why do taxes increase
despite millage rate
rollbacks?
Both the BOC and BOE rolled
back their tax rates last fall.
However, as with last tax year,
assessed property values have
increased.
That means both the county
and school system are expected
to receive more tax revenue.
Property taxes are charged
against the owner of the property
on January 1, and against the
property itself if the owner is not
known. Property tax returns are
to be filed between January 1 and
April 1 with the county tax asses
sor’s office.
What's driving
the increase in
property values?
Rising values are influenced by
factors including but not limited
to ongoing low housing invento
ry, inflation and increased
demand.
Dawson County is the fifth-
fastest-growing county of its size
in the United States, according to
updated U.S. Census Bureau
data. Bordering Dawson is anoth
er one of the country’s fastest-
growing counties of its size,
Fumpldn County.
What other factors can
impact a property's
assessed value?
Focation can play a key role in
determining the value. Properties
in the eastern part of Dawson
County saw the greatest increase
in assessed values, Garrett said.
Other considerations that can
cause different assessed values
include heated area square foot
age; areas not in a home’s heated
portion; finished or unfinished
basements; the type of land prop-
erty-i.e. on Fake Fanier or not;
and land size, shape and topogra
phy.
“The market value continued
the upward trend we have seen in
the previous 2 years,” Garrett
said. “To complicate things more,
Dawson was in a position where
we needed to adjust how we
looked at the sales in regards to
our audit study.”
What about the
audit study?
This study comes with the risk
of penalty to the county if not in
compliance over the course of
two cycles (digest reviews are
done in three-year cycles). The
first compliance failure results in
a warning and the second occur
rence can result in a $5-per-parcel
fine, Garrett said.
That led to time spent adjusting
local sales to bring them to a time
frame of January 1, the date of
assessment in Georgia.
“This creates a situation where
the office not only had to increase
values due to what the market
was doing within the year but
also catch up from the previous
year from not trending through
time adjustment in the previous
year,” Garrett added.
The state audit or study done
several months ago for Dawson
County was for the 2021 digest.
When that study’s results were
received, the county’s 2022 digest
had already been submitted. Had
the county gotten the study earli
er, Garrett explained that “there is
a good chance we would have
already dealt with these increas
es.”
“To put it as simply as I can, by
not trending the sales, the values
miss out on roughly six months
of movement in the market. If
the market went up 20% in a year
and we didn’t trend, we may only
have a 10% increase in values by
not trending because we are treat
ing the sales early in the year the
same as the ones later in the
year,” Garrett said. “They all have
the same impact.”
Garrett used the example of a
subdivision with four January
sales averaging $300,000 and
four more sales in December
averaging $360,000. Under the
old method, these properties
would have been valued in the
$330,000 range because the dates
would not have mattered.
“This did not bode well for the
audit study but retained reliability
for taxation because it was being
applied uniformly across the
board,” Garrett said. “However,
by trending the sales to a January
1 date, these properties would see
a valuation of $360,000.”
“That is doubling the percent
age of increase simply based [on]
the methodology used, not to
mention having to basically make
up for half a year from the previ
ous year of not trending,” Garrett
added. “Fuckily, once completed,
we should see market adjust
ments only from this point for
ward.”
This article will be updated as
more information becomes avail
able.
