Tax assessor, collector ask for new agreements

The agreements Marshall County has with municipal governments for the assessment and collection of taxes was discussed at the October 20 meeting of the board of supervisors.

The assessor and collector are asking for an increase to assess and collect ad valorem taxes for municipalities, such as the town of Byhalia.

Board attorney Amanda Whaley Smith provided historical background taken from the board minutes.

Marshall County entered into an agreement with Byhalia October 1, 1989, where the county agreed to pay any cost incurred in the town’s taxes.

Then in 1992, tax assessor Bobby Fant wrote letters regarding the collection of real and personal taxes. They agreed to collect taxes for the City of Holly Springs.

The county, in the agreement, would charge a commission of 1.5 percent of the net collection for each entity.

Smith said Byhalia approved the agreement. And in 1992, the City of Holly Springs agreed to pay a 1.5 percent commission to the county.

In 2007, the board of supervisors minutes said the county set some additional compensation for the tax collector Betty Byrd and assessor Juanita Dillard. State statutes allowed $57,000 as compensation for salaries and for an additional fee of five percent of the 1.5 percent of the county’s commission from municipalities. That compensation is now $13,000, Smith said.

District 4 supervisor George Zinn III asked if the 5 percent is less than it was in 1988.

“The inter local agreement was 1.5 percent,” Smith said. “You compensate them out of the 1.5 percent.” She said board minutes in 2011 set compensation for the assessor and collector at $13,000.

The state legislature set the salaries in 2008 at $54,000, then in December of 2019 the state gave assessors and collectors a 5 percent raise of additional compensation for collection of municipal taxes, she said. The additional compensation in 2019 came to $14,850.

A request by Byrd in 2020 to increase the compensation from $14,850 to $20,000 was rejected by the board.

“That’s where we are today,” Smith said.

The agreement is between the county and the municipalities, not with the collector and assessor.

“The agreement of 1.5 percent of the net collection was commissioned to the county to help defray the cost for the county to collect,” Smith said. “It was never an agreement with the assessor and collector for the whole 1.5 percent.”

Smith added that a retroactive request for compensation by the tax assessor cannot be made and is not legal.

The assessed value has continued to increase so for 2025 the assessor received $66,425 plus the $14,850 plus $2,000 for and extra certification bringing the salary for the assessor up to $83,275, Smith said.

“They get bumps when they get extra certification,” she said. “Rosalyn (DeBerry) gets extra because she has two offices (Byhalia and Holly Springs).”

“They are getting compensated well,” said District 5 supervisor Ronnie O’Neil Bennett.

Smith said an attorney general opinion requested by tax assessor Ronnie Johnson in 2007 said the assessor does not have to be a party to the inter local agreement but could get paid.

“They are still going to get their pay,” Smith said.

District 2 supervisor Johnny Walker pointed out that the appraisals are not being done by employees of the appraiser’s office.

“We are not even doing our own appraisal. We are having to pay for an appraiser, $850,000 last year, for assessor,” he said.

County administrator Tim Powell explained that the 1.5 percent commission the county receives is to cover cost of operations - “computers, the whole nine yards.”

“So, at the end of the day, you are saying those amounts requested are not approved?” DeBerry asked.

Chancery clerk Nicole Phelps read out the extra pay for the tax assessor was $29,120 in 2024 and $31,107 in 2025.

“Is it legal to pay a flat rate?” asked District 1 supervisor Goston Glover.

“Yes,” said Smith.

“We can’t go below the 5 percent of the 1.5 percent we collect (from municipalities),” Powell said.

“Can you give me legal advice?” Glover asked.

“You cannot go back retroactively,” Smith said. “They got what you gave them out of the 1.5 percent (the county’s commission). You can’t pay retroactively, but you can pay more going forward.”

Powell said in year 2024 the county got $58,203 as its commission (the 1.5 percent).

“My recommendation is it’s not legal (to pay retroactively),” Smith said.

“But going forward with growth you could adjust it,” Zinn said.

Powell said he thinks the $14,500 the assessors have been getting is a fair number.

“We have to have money to provide their lights, computers and everything else,” he said.

“You’ll get your raises when the growth gets here,” Walker said. “The state will give you this.”

“It’s based on the assessed level,” Smith said.

“It will be significant” said Walker. “When we start assessing our own property, we can do it then, instead of paying $200,000 (for professional services from Wayne Herring).”

Bennett asked to continue the discussion in executive session.

“The contractual part you can go into executive session,” Smith said.

“The motion that was made was to pay back pay if it is legal,” Phelps said.

The board approved a motion to not pay assessor and collector any back pay because it is not legal by law to do so.

In other tax office business, the board of supervisors:

• approved a motion to contract with Tri-State Consulting for $9,000 to create the maps for the 2026 land rolls.

• authorized letters to be sent out to over 200 individuals who had escaped taxes. Smith said the letters are for those who were assessed tax only on their property but not the structures (houses) built on the property. Powell said the invoicing may refund payment the person owed on their property, then send out a full tax notice on both the property and home, a complete bill. Smith said she did not advise physically refunding their payment made on the property alone. “Is there no such thing as giving credit?” Zinn asked.

“Yes, but not for that system. You have to back it out,” Smith said.

• deputy assessor Belen Manjarrez, presented some corrections to be made to the 2025 homestead exemption rolls where some people who were not qualified to receive exemptions were given exemptions.

“If they are not qualified to Homestead Exemption, we need to correct it,” Smith said.