Four Warren County property owners filed objections to new values placed on their holdings for tax purposes, joining two casino companies who renewed their objections to this year’s assessment.

The board of supervisors met to accept the written objections Monday and took all under advisement.

Meeting the protest deadline were Denbury Onshore, which runs a pipeline through the county, and three apartment complexes — Beechwood Park, Villa Pacis and Magnolia Manor.

Filings by the casinos, Ameristar and Riverwalk, preserve their appeal from this year, which remain pending in court. Supervisors closed their meeting to the public for about 20 minutes, saying they needed to discuss the casinos’ cases. Later, Warren County Assessor Richard Holland said progress is being made and he hopes for a resolution soon.

“We have had a handful (of objections) over the years that went to litigation,” he said. “Sometimes it can drag on. We’re trying to get to a solution agreeable to everybody. I think we’re getting closer.”

The assessor creates a list of all taxable property in the county and calculates a value for tax purposes. The completed roll is then turned over to supervisors and owners objecting to the valuation may file written protests seeking a review. If agreement is not reached, owners may file suit.

The valuation is significant because it, along with the rate of assessment and the millage, which supervisors set, are the factors determining total taxes due each January.

The apartment complexes “pretty much protest every year,” Holland told the board.

Holland will evaluate the four new protests and report back to supervisors Monday. “We’ll determine if the pipeline is exempt or not, and we’ll look at the apartments and some comparable properties and see if the value is out of line or not, and make a decision.”

Denbury claims that its carbon dioxide pipeline, which enhances the company’s oil recovery efforts, is exempt from all property taxes, said Holland. The pipeline is new to the tax rolls and its assessed value, $1,127,913, was obtained from the company, Holland said.

Denbury is one of the largest oil and natural gas operators in Mississippi, and owns the largest reserves of carbon dioxide used for tertiary oil recovery east of the Mississippi River. It holds operating acreage in south Louisiana, Alabama and Texas Barnett Shale.

The county assessed Magnolia Manor, which is located south of I-20 on Manor Drive, at $2,054,130. The complex provides housing to low-income seniors. According to the appeal filed on its behalf by Atlanta-based Ryan Innovative Solutions to Taxing Problems, its assessed value should be set by applying a state-mandated rate to its 2009 net operating income.

The appeals for Beechwood Park and Villa Pacis were filed by Property Tax Associates of Ridgeland. The county assessed Beechwood Park, located on Berryman Road, at $2,185,490, and Villa Pacis, on Wisconsin Avenue, at $409,890. Both are classified as affordable rental units with values to be determined by specific guidelines listed in the State Tax Commission Manual.

Holland’s office reevaluates all properties in the county on a four-year rotating basis, with 25 percent of them subject to reappraisal every year. Although market values are generally declining, this year’s total roll for tax purposes increased nearly 2 percent countywide.

Property taxes are a major funding source for county operations and supplement state support for public schools. Property taxes also join a state sales tax rebate and casino revenue taxes as the major funding sources for the City of Vicksburg.