Why hurricane damage could help you on your tax bill

EVANS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Hurricane Helene’s damage to countless local homes could affect property tax bills.

Officials right now are assessing properties’ value for taxes – and destroyed and damaged homes can lower a property’s value until they’re rebuilt or repaired.

That’s why homeowners should report any damage.

The Richmond County Tax Assessor’s Office asked homeowners to fill out a hurricane property damage report form so a team can come check for a damage reduction on this year’s tax bill.

And Columbia County officials on Tuesday made a similar call to property owners.

We tagged along with an appraiser in Columbia County on Tuesday.

The chief appraiser in Columbia County told us that after Helene they did initial assessments on a lot of homes to see the damage, but they’re concerned there may be some they missed because of just how much damage there was.

Even though they are boots on the ground going door to door, they still need your help.

“We’ve got approximately 61,000 parcels in the county that have structures on them,” said Morgan Aune, Columbia County chief appraiser.

Property values, and they’re all under the microscope in Columbia County.

“We’re just concerned that we’ll miss some of those properties,” said Aune. “We’re just trying to get the word out and give everybody an opportunity to let us know, ‘Hey, you need to come check my house so we can see what we’ve got going on.’”

Crews say they’ve never had a year like this one.

“This was like a one-in-a-million thing at least for Columbia County because we don’t see hurricanes like this,” said Charlie Frizzi, with the Columbia County Tax Accessors office.

Step by step and line by line.

“I’ve gone from a home that’s been completely destroyed and they demolished it to maybe just fixing the roof here and there,” said Frizzi

Frizzi and his team of six other Columbia County appraisers are hitting the streets, identifying and assessing homes damaged by Helene

“Siding, the fence, the porch, anything that could decrease the value from the damage,” said Frizzi.

Damage lowers the value and in return could give the homeowner a tax break.

“We’ll make those adjustments, It’s going to help you out this year on your tax bill while you’re trying to get these things repaired,” said Aune.

Even if your home has been repaired, they’re asking you to still give them a call.

“We’re telling everybody if you had an insurance adjuster come out and give you an estimate or a contractor, anybody that’s giving you any kind of estimate for what those damages will be. If you can get a copy of that and have a copy of that ready to give to us so we can put it on file and we’ll use, you know, the kind of numbers that we’re getting from these folks to help us in that determination of value,” said Aune.

When we were out with Frizzi on Tuesday, the entire assessment took less than 15 minutes.

You don’t have to be home when they come by, all they need is a call or email from you with any documentation or repairs you’ve had.

They say the sooner the better.

Aune emphasized the importance of residents ing the assessor’s office to ensure accurate damage assessments.

Providing estimates from contractors or insurance adjusters will help.

“We are in the process of evaluating properties as of Jan. 1, and while we’ve conducted initial assessments, there may still be homes that were missed due to inaccessibility or unseen damage,” said Aune.

The Columbia County Tax Assessor’s office will be evaluating properties through early March

In Richmond County:

In Columbia County:

• Call 706-312-7474.
• Email [email protected].
• Visit the Columbia County Tax Assessor’s Office: 630 Ronald Reagan Drive, Building C, first floor.

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