Editor's note – This article has been revised since it was first uploaded to correct a factual error about legal action and to clarify the nature of forestry acreage on the Griggses' property. Access to this article is now free for all readers.
Murphy – Cherokee County Commissioner Jan Griggs and her husband, Joe, appealed a tax bill to the board of commissioners Thursday – but things didn’t turn out the way they hoped or expected.
Except for Commissioner Ben Adams, the rest of the board members recused themselves from hearing the appeal because they all had prior knowledge of the case. The unexpected development left the Griggses dissatisfied, along with about a dozen supporters who also attended the thwarted hearing at the Cherokee County Courthouse.
The couple are contesting a $488 property tax bill they claim they were charged because they were vindictively targeted by county Tax Assessor Teresa Ricks.
The Cherokee County Board of Equalization and Review met Sept. 7 at the court house and, by a 3-0 vote (with two members absent), ordered that the couple pay the recently discovered back taxes.
It was the second meeting of the board at a cost to taxpayers of at least $1,000 (board members are paid $130 per meeting). Following the previous meeting on July 26, the board recessed for research, then determined that the Griggses had missed the deadline to appeal and rejected it.
The tax bill didn’t arrive in time for the Griggses to meet the appeals deadline, so they went to the board of commissioners, which approved a special order for the appeals board to re-convene to hear the Griggses’ appeal and for county attorney Darryl Brown to advise the appeals board.
The board reconvened on Sept. 7 and, following a hearing of just over an hour, rejected the appeal. The arguments on Sept. 7 were similar to what the Griggses made in July, but were unable to make during the Nov. 30 appeal hearing.
Jan Griggs said she was singled out by Ricks over a previous dispute between the two over attire Ricks was wearing while at work to accommodate a leg cast she was wearing at the time.
The appeal arose after staff from the Cherokee County Tax Assessor’s Office examined the Griggses property following up on notifications from previous tax assessors that the Griggses' property's forestry management plan had expired.
The tax assessor found that the Griggses had under-reported agriculture acreage (which is taxed at a value of $3,500 per acre) and over-reported forestry acreage (which is taxed at a value of $330 per acre). The result was a bill for the discovery of underpaid property taxes of $488.
Although the plan had expired in 2009, the tax assessor was only permitted to look back no more than five years.
Jan Griggs called the Nov. 30 meeting a “non-meeting,” and said she and her husband have already appealed their case to the state Property Tax Commission. They are waiting for a hearing date.
Griggs said her earlier appeal violated open meeting requirements. The board members huddled during the hearing and discussed the issue in hushed voices before rendering their verdict.
Griggs said the amount of forested land assessed on her property was 47 acres, while a recent measurement showed the actual size is 40 acres.
At the Nov. 30 meeting of the board of commissioners, board Chair Cal Stiles had the board’s ethics statement read aloud into he record so they would be reflected in the minutes.
Stiles described the hearing as quasi-judicial and said both sides – the Griggses on one side, the tax assessor’s office on the other – are entitled to due process requiring fairness and impartiality from a board abiding high ethical standards.
Griggs recused herself because she is the appellant. But then Stiles recused himself because of prior knowledge of the case.
Commissioner Dan Eichenbaum recused himself for the same reason, leaving the board without a quorum and unable to proceed. Then Commissioner Randy Phillips also recused himself for the same reason.
That left Commissioner Ben Adams alone on the board. A quorum is not present, Stiles said. “The decision stands.”
The board adjourned the appeal hearing and went into closed session to discuss another matter that was not disclosed.