MERIDIAN —     County supervisors are working to establish a budget for the upcoming year amid news that once again, property values are down.

    Taxes are levied on property such as homes, businesses and autos based on their value and county supervisors set the millage rate, which determines the taxes to be paid.

    James Rainey, Lauderdale County Tax Assessor, presented tax rolls to the Board on Monday.

    "They're down. It's due to the economic condition of the county this year that they're down," Rainey said. "Every four years the Department of Revenue requires us to do an update year. In that update year, a formula is applied to the value and they came in lower this year."

    The decrease in value is about two percent, Board President Joe Norwood said, which brings the county's assessed value to just under $600 million.

    "At this point we don't have the final numbers from the Tax Assessor's Office," Norwood said on Thursday, following a county budget work session. "What we do know is that we had a budget meeting with the tax assessor today. We are about two percent down from where we were last year."

    This is the third consecutive year that the county's assessed value has been down.

    "One reason could be car tags, another could be that this year there was no new subdivision put on the tax rolls," Norwood said. "Until we plug in all the numbers, that's where we are."

    The Board of Supervisors has until July 16 to inspect the county's tax rolls. After that the rolls will be placed in the Chancery Clerk's Office for inspection by the public and any property owners. The information will also be placed online at the county's website at:  www.lauderdalecounty.org

    If a property owner wishes to appeal the assessment, they may do so in writing before Aug. 6. Appeals forms are located in the Chancery Clerk's Office, which is where property owners can file them.

    Supervisor Hank Florey on Monday encouraged taxpayers to check their values as soon as possible.

    "We're trying to get the word out, but most people wait until they receive their yellow card (tax notices) before they complain. It's too late," Florey said. "When you get one of those yellow cards around the Christmas holidays it's too late to object."

    Rainey also told the board on Monday that forestry land values in the county are down approximately 10 percent. The Department of Revenue assesses forestry and agricultural lands, not the county tax assessor, Rainey said.

    The county and city are working with the Mississippi Secretary of State's Office to put tax-forfeited properties back on the tax rolls. The board on Monday authorized  participation in a pilot program for properties forfeited to the state.

    "There's roughly $2 million worth of property in Lauderdale County that is off the tax rolls that falls under the Secretary of State's Office right now that people haven't paid property taxes on," Norwood said.

    Because the cost of demolition of some buildings is added to the assessment, along with back taxes, the cost at the annual tax sale can be higher than the actual value, so some potential buyers don't buy.

    If a property is not bought at the tax sale, it is forfeited to the Secretary of State's Office and is taken off the local tax rolls.

    Norwood said the county and city have been working with Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office for more than a year to get into this pilot program, which allows the county to take possession of the property, make improvements or demolish it, if necessary and then put it up for auction through Hosemann's office.

    "At least we can get those properties back on the tax rolls," Norwood said. "Right now they're not on the tax rolls and we're not collecting anything from them and it's just an eyesore. We just want to help clean up the city and the county that way."

    Norwood said the Secretary of State's office will provide signs for properties to be auctioned off and bidders will submit their bids to the state, not the county or city.

    "There will be a website developed for Lauderdale County and they will monitor that from Jackson for us," Norwood said.

    Greenville was the first city in the program and recently had its first sale through the Secretary of State's Office during which they received 87 bids on 52 parcels.