6 businesses balk at value set for taxes
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Two casino properties, three apartment complexes and one shuttered restaurant have submitted letters to Warren County supervisors objecting to valuations assigned for the purpose of real and personal property taxes.
Supervisors accepted six letters Monday from those who want new values assigned to their properties ahead of the deadline, which is today. Each was taken under advisement.
The letters are part of the annual process of assigning values, then setting a budget and tax rates. Sept. 8 is the date supervisors expect to have the county’s spending plan and tax levy in place for the new budget year, which starts Oct. 1.
Magnolia Hill LLC, the ownership group for Riverwalk Casino, appealed the assessment for its Warrenton Road casino, as well as Dallas-based Property Tax Service Company, who objected to values on six real property parcels and one personal property parcels either owned or leased by DiamondJacks Casino. Among those is space leased from District 1 Supervisor David McDonald at 4001 Washington St. and used for the casino’s buildings and grounds operations. Current values on the Riverwalk and DiamondJacks properties total $56,421,200 and $52,429,530, respectively.
Values on Mission Ridge, River Hills, Magnolia Commons and Parkwood South apartment complexes were also appealed, with the latter three lumped onto one single letter from Ridgeland-based Property Tax Associates Inc. Owners of Mission Ridge were the lone objectors to request a value, specifying a $225,200 valuation, less than one-third of its current $683,610 value.
Deputy Tax Assessor Jim Agent said a letter left off the board’s official agenda from California-based Realty Income Corporation will be considered. The company owns the structure on Pemberton Square Boulevard that housed Ryan’s Family Steakhouse, which closed in February 2008. The building and adjacent property have been valued at $1,437,380.
Land rolls grew by 5.9 percent this year, to $3,343,404,905, due largely new high-end commercial development including the new casino and three hotels that were completed in 2008.
No objections were filed by the hotels or the 409 property owners whose land increased by $5,000 or more this year. Tax Assessor Richard Holland has begun mailing notifications cards to owners of property with such increases. The cards list the new valuations for tax purposes, but do not relate the amount of the increase.
The county’s assessments are also used to collect Vicksburg’s levy on property inside the city limits and for public schools.
Tax bills based on this year’s property assessments will be mailed in December. Supervisors expect to restart budget discussions early next week, and foresee no hike in tax rates.
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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com