Dade County Property Owners Urged To Review 2026 Assessment Notices

Dade County property owners should begin receiving their 2026 assessment notices this week, and county officials are urging residents to review their notices carefully, check their property information and contact the Tax Assessor’s Office with questions before the appeal deadline.

Chief Appraiser Paula Duvall told the Dade County Board of Commissioners at its June meeting that the notices were mailed June 3, beginning the annual review and appeal period for property owners. Residents have until July 20 to appeal.

“Please look at your assessment notice,” Duvall said. “Please review it. Please look at our website. Look at your property. Look at your neighbor’s property. Do some research. Come in and talk to us.”

Duvall said the notices will look different this year because of changes made by the Georgia Legislature. In previous years, notices showed both the 100 percent fair market value and the 40 percent assessed value. This year, property owners will only see the 100 percent value listed on the notice.

“So to get your assessed value, which is what you’re actually taxed on, all you do is take 100 percent valuation and multiply it by .40, which is 40 percent,” Duvall said.

Duvall also reminded residents that assessment notices are not tax bills. The notices show the county’s value for the property before tax bills are calculated later.

The notice also includes appeal options, contact information for the Tax Assessor’s Office, parcel information, acreage and value information. Duvall said property owners with exemptions will see a section showing how much those exemptions save them.

The county made several value adjustments this year based on market data and state-required statistical measurements, Duvall said.

For residential property, the county increased its base value from $135 per square foot to $138 per square foot. Duvall said the county also adjusted some attached features, such as screened porches, open porches, decks, garages and patios.

“All the last four or five years that we’ve been changing the dollar per square foot, we haven’t touched those particular improvement labels,” Duvall said. “So this year, we did kind of increase those a little bit to go along with the dollar per square foot because it is the total package of your house.”

Duvall said the county also made changes to some urban land, which includes subdivisions. 

Agricultural and rural land values were also adjusted. Duvall said those properties are generally 20 acres or more, and the county considers factors such as location, accessibility, road frontage and the individual condition of each property.

Accessibility is tied to where the property is located in the county, including Lookout Mountain, the valley and Sand Mountain. Desirability considers property-specific factors, such as whether a parcel is landlocked, located on the side of a mountain or has road frontage.

“We did the least amount that we could possibly do and still maintain our statistical numbers,” Duvall said. “We are audited by the Department of Audits every year.”

Duvall said the county studies sales and market data before changing values and tries to keep adjustments as limited as possible while still meeting state requirements.

“Yes, we will go down if that’s what the market shows,” she said. “But the last four or five years, it’s just continually either gone up or stayed very steady as far as what sale prices are and what the market is in this county, which is a good thing, in my opinion.”

“Please come and see us,” Duvall said. “Call us. We’re always there. Door’s always open. Be glad to talk to you.”

Property owners with questions may contact the Dade County Tax Assessor’s Office by calling 706-657-6341.

The board also announced a public hearing and budget review for the proposed FY2027 budget. The hearing will be held Thursday, June 18, at 10 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Public Meeting Room at the Dade County Administrative Building, 71 Case Ave., Trenton.

County officials said any person wishing to be heard on the budget may appear at the public hearing.

County Executive Don Townsend said the hearing will give residents a chance to learn more about the budget and the services funded through county government.

“This will be an opportunity for you as a community to come out and hear not only about the budget, but to hear from folks like directors, constitutional officers, elected officials, to hear them speak on behalf of what they do for you in Dade County,” Townsend said.

Commissioner Melissa Bradford also encouraged residents to review the proposed budget and contact commissioners before the budget is adopted.

“The budget is out,” Bradford said. “So this is the time to ask questions. It’s not when we finalize it and get it done. It’s now.”

The proposed budget included in the meeting materials lists $16,163,600 in total revenue and $16,863,600 in proposed total departmental expenses, leaving a projected $700,000 shortage to be addressed before final adoption.

Townsend said the current proposal does not include a cost-of-living increase for county employees. He said that is not the county’s preference, but the budget has remained tight.

“What we’re looking at this year, we do not have any scheduled cost of living allowances built in to the budget,” Townsend said. “It’s zero, which we don’t want.”

Townsend also said the county’s health insurance renewal was initially projected to increase by 43 percent, but negotiations brought the increase down to about 21 percent.

“It’s better than 43 percent, but still,” Townsend said.

The county is expected to meet June 30 to consider final approval of the FY2027 budget.

Commissioners also discussed several other items during the meeting:

• Commissioner Phillip Hartline said Dade County had 23 electrical inspections in May, down from 24 in April. May included four new construction inspections, four new construction temporary inspections, four mobile homes and one failed inspection.
• Hartline said spring soccer has ended, football signups are beginning and the Dizzy Dean State Tournament was set to begin. He said two May softball tournaments drew strong crowds, with about 1,500 people attending the first tournament and about 2,800 attending the second. 
• Hartline also noted the installation of a trash trap in Town Creek at Jenkins Park through a grant pursued by Stephen Bontekoe and Limestone Valley RC&D. The device is intended to catch trash before it continues downstream.
• Commissioner Robert Woods said work continues at the Trenton-Dade Animal Center, where HVAC, electrical, plumbing and interior wall work are in progress. Woods said the job description for the animal center director is being finalized and will be publicly announced.
• Woods reported that the animal center and rescue partners had a combined 117 animal intakes, 139 outgoing animals and 84 spay and neuter procedures in May.
• Woods also reported that Dade County Transit provided 788 trips in the June senior center report, including 355 trips bringing seniors to the center, 63 dialysis trips and 370 other supported appointments. The service logged 10,914 miles and 776 service hours.
• Commissioner Melissa Bradford said work continues on Dade County’s joint comprehensive plan and encouraged residents to participate in upcoming meetings.
• Bradford said the county is continuing efforts to gauge interest in glass recycling through Overlooked Materials. She said at least 50 people need to commit before the service can move forward. Newspaper recycling is also continuing at the Dade County Recycling Center.
• Townsend reported that Dade County received a $406,000 USDA grant for two new ambulances and related equipment. He said the county is also continuing work on its EMS contract and expects to discuss that further in July.
• Townsend said the Memorial Day service presented by American Legion Post 106 was held in the county commission room because of expected rain, though the 21-gun salute was still held outside.