Cherokee Tax Assessor's Office Privatized; 4 Employees Laid Off

CANTON, GA -- Officials tasked with running the Cherokee County Tax Assessor's Office are always looking for ways to cut costs and save money and the latest move related to its operations will do just that, Chief Appraiser Steve Swindell told Patch.

The official move to privatize the office went into effect Wednesday, with the final approval given by the Cherokee County Commission at its Tuesday, July 18 meeting. Commissioners approved an agreement with Tax Management Associates to provide personal property listing administration and auditing services for the office.

County documents show the agreement is expected to cost Cherokee $229,450 each year. The Cherokee Board of Tax Assessors approved the measure at its July 13 meeting, Swindell said.

“We are always looking at cost saving measures, but in this case, we knew Gwinnett privatized their personal tax property department to great success," he said.

Gwinnett County, Swindell notes, actually hired the same company taking over operations in Cherokee back in 2010.

“This is really quite common in our industry," he added.

Unfortunately, the moved resulted in the termination of four employees, and they were all let go last Wednesday, Swindell said. Those employees collectively had between two and 19 years of experience serving the county. The chief appraiser said the contract versus county employee model will result in a 20 percent cost savings. Instead of having four employees, the company will have primarily two employees who will be on site at all times. That number could be bumped up during busier times of year, Swindell states.

Swindell told Patch he hopes the change will bring in a level of expertise that “we just didn’t have with existing staff.”

"Not only did we not have it, it would have been difficult to obtain," he said, adding the Tax Management Associates employees bring a wide range of experience to Cherokee County.

While the change was a distressing time for employees who were let go, Swindell said he was unable to provide advance warning due to the sensitive information those workers were tasked with handling and safeguarding. Once they were informed of the change, the office essentially had to lock down the computers. Additionally, Cherokee County marshals were on hand to ensure the transition went smoothly.

In the end, the board was keen to get more experienced staff members in the office in a way that could also lead to cost savings for its operations.

"It was just a business decision," Swindell said.

While the County Commission was not involved in the process of bringing on the firm, Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens said the move was part of the county's overall method of constantly searching for ways to save money. He notes the change will impact personal property operations, which is a "relatively small" part of the tax digest and does not include commercial or residential valuations. Personal property is described as vehicles and boats. Real property consists of land and buildings.

The change, he noted, has nothing to do with the competencies of those who were previously employed with the county, but brings on a group that specializes in these kinds of assessments.

"And if it makes sense, you decide to move forward," he said.

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