At the Feb. 4 Fulton County Board of Commissioners Meeting, Chairman Robb Pitts announced an initiative to address the public’s concern that certain “trophy properties” and data centers are undervalued by the county board of assessors.
“This concern I take seriously. If, in fact, certain properties are being undervalued, this would mean local governments and the school systems could be forgoing millions of dollars in tax revenue,” Pitts said in a statement.
State law requires that counties appraise real property within 10% of its fair market value. That value is then assessed at 40% to determine how much tax is due on the property based on that year’s millage rate, Pitts said.
Critics complain of discrepancies between the Board of Assessors’ valuation of trophy properties – high-value commercial properties – and their sale prices as reported in the media. When owners of trophy properties appeal their valuation, they are overwhelmingly successful in obtaining a reduced amount, Pitts asserted.
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However, Pitts said the Georgia Department of Revenue approves the Fulton County digest each year and has graded the Fulton County commercial tax digest with high marks, leading to confusion among skeptics.
Pitts said his initiative will “shed light on the accuracy of commercial appraisals on the front end, level the playing field during appeals, and seek legislative changes that would allow the board of assessors to consider additional factors when determining values.”
“First, I am bringing in an outside firm to audit our valuations of trophy properties to determine their accuracy. Second, we will utilize outside counsel with expertise in commercial real estate to represent us during appeals of high-value commercial properties,” Pitts said. “Finally, I am asking the state legislature to make changes that will allow assessors to consider additional factors, such as capital costs of projects, when evaluating these properties, and limiting appeals for properties currently receiving tax abatements from development authorities.”
Fulton County published a request for proposal (RFP) for independent retrospective commercial appraisal services. Responses are due on Feb. 12.
Julian Bene and former Georgia State Representative Dr. Paul Bolster, both longtime appraisal reform advocates, saidPitts’ initiative is a strong first step.
“Thanks to Chairman Pitts’ & Board of Assessors Chair Lee Morris’ leadership, improved data-center valuation is underway, potentially worth $100M extra in 2026,” Bene said in a statement
“Commercial trophies built in the past decade – and all hotels – effectively escape the State sales audit. The third-party valuation expert and outside legal resources that these leaders are arranging should help fix under-appraisals, making Fulton more equitable and better-resourced,” Bene said.