Warren County taxpayers have asked and a little more than 6 percent of them shall receive a little postcard detailing likely increases in their property taxes.

About 1,600 notices mailed last week should arrive soon in mailboxes of property owners expected to have increases of $5,000 or more in the true value of their parcels, Warren County Tax Assessor Richard Holland said.

The move, done in other counties completely at the discretion of individual tax assessors, marks the first advance notice to Warren County’s 25,650 landowners in years concerning hints of what to expect when tax bills arrive in December.

Information on the notice includes the property owner’s name, address, parcel location and identification numbers. Those with questions are asked to call Holland’s office during business hours before July 18, a week after Warren County supervisors wrap up their annual check of land rolls for consistency between assessments and value. From there, the public has 30 days to view their property status and file a written challenge if they object.

“We’ve gotten about 50 phone calls already,” Holland said, emphasizing no information about actual tax amounts appears on the cards because millage rates won’t be set until the 2008-09 budget is adopted Sept. 8.

Mississippi law mandates reappraisals every four years so State Tax Commission audits can match property sales and county tax rolls. Notices were done in 1997 following a state-mandated countywide reassessment to get more than an 80 percent balance between property sales and county tax rolls, and then again in 2001 and 2002, Deputy Tax Assessor Jim Agent said.

This year’s effort was spurred by last year’s election cycle, which saw Holland re-elected to a fourth term with nearly 64 percent of the vote out of about 12,000 cast. Challenger Pat Ring campaigned heavily on the issue of notifying taxpayers of pending changes to their tax situation.

Mississippi law mandates reappraisals every four years so State Tax Commission audits can match property sales and county tax rolls.While cost and lack of public feedback was mentioned during the campaign as obstacles, Agent said the postage and printing price tag to the Assessor’s Office for this year’s round of notices totaled $1,032 – about 64 cents per notice.

“Before, we were talking about sending out 25,000 notices,” Agent said, referring to an initial cost estimate of $7,000.

Supervisors favor the move to keep the public informed, but don’t forecast huge bumps in public response to the mailers or in attendance to the objection hearing Aug. 4.

“The main deal is for people to understand the values,” Board President Richard George said. “We had several comments from people who thought it would be a good idea and we hope people respond to the cards.”

District 1 Supervisor David McDonald said updates on some of the 19 residential and commercial properties he owns have already arrived at his mailbox.

“I got two or three in the mail myself,” McDonald said. “They’ve done it in the past and people don’t respond until they get their tax bill anyway. It was costing a good little bit of money, but Pat made a campaign issue out of it.”

On Monday, Holland will present land rolls to supervisors showing signs of current national economic woes. Exact numbers, Holland said, will show rolls grew from $3,156,404,888 in 2007 to $3,172,226,834 in 2008 – an increase of just half a percent after five previous spikes that averaged 3.5 percent.

“(Property) sales showed that,” Holland said. “It’s reflected in the properties that went up. In a usual economy, it would be twice that much.”

While home sales remain hottest in the $130,000 range, this year’s assessments were calmed by losses in agricultural land values, Holland said. In addition, the rolls took a $24.4 million hit from the departure of the CalsonicKansei auto parts plant at Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex.

“That was, by far, the largest come-off,” Deputy Tax Assessor Jim Agent said.

Figures are preliminary and subject to change because of tax exemptions and abatements typically granted to some large businesses, such as those in historic districts. Applications for homestead exemptions thus far stand at 11,416, 57 more than last year.

If millage rates remain the same, tax revenues generated by the slight rise are likely to be below $1 million.

On homestead property, parcels are assessed at 10 percent of the true value. On all other property, including commercial, agricultural and rental, it is assessed at 15 percent. Tax bills result from multiplying that figure by separate millage rates for city, county and school taxes. Currently, rates are 37.74 mills for Warren County, 35.88 mills for Vicksburg and 46.2 mills for the school district.

Rising property values can increase tax money into county and school district coffers without changing the tax rate. This year, millage rates are pressed upon by rising fuel costs incurred by the three entities.

To contactThe phone number for the Warren County Tax Assessor’s Office is 601-638-6161.This year’s reappraisals covered the southeastern portion of the county, including Oak Park and Mill Creek subdivisions. Also reassessed were areas in Bovina eastward along U.S. 80 all the way to the county line at the Big Black River.

High-end commercial development such as new hotel construction and automotive dealerships were absent from this year’s report, with the only notable development being the Park Residence apartments on North Frontage Road. However, the possibility of six hotels and multimillion-dollar improvements at Ameristar Casino coming onto the tax rolls for 2009-10 could render this year’s slowdown temporary.

Hotels include a Courtyard by Marriott, Comfort Inn and a La Quinta Inn and Suites just off East Clay Street, a Candlewood Suites and an unnamed hotel on South Frontage Road and the Riverwalk Casino hotel.

“I’ve been here 23 years, and I’ve never seen six hotels in a year,” Holland said.