Tommy Smith

Tommy Smith Responds to Queries

To the Citizens of Henry County,

My lifelong passion is public service. Andy Pipkin has served this county well and leaves a much respected Department. I would be honored to work with the staff he has assembled. Although most citizens don’t joyfully pay taxes, being elected Tax Commissioner would allow me to serve the citizens of Henry County in a courteous and efficient manner.

As Tax Commissioner, I plan to bring even better accessibility to the citizens of Henry County. We now have two satellite locations, one in Hampton and one in Locust Grove. I propose to offer additional satellite locations in Fairview, Ellenwood and Ola that would add to the convenience of the citizens in dealing with the office of the Tax Commissioner. Many of our citizens are not able to take care of their county business during regular business hours. I would work to offer extended and/or Saturday hours in alternating locations to better serve the public.


I would give citizens the opportunity to pay their taxes in person using a credit card. The transaction fee would have to be borne by the citizen electing this convenience but I believe that the option should be available.

As Tax Commissioner, my job would be to collect taxes imposed by governing authorities and to distribute these funds in a timely and efficient manner. There are several ways that a citizen can address taxes that they perceive as unfair. First, the Board of Tax Assessors is charged with the task of assessing property value. If a citizen believes the assessment is not accurate, there is an appeal process to be followed. If the citizen feels the assessment is fair but the tax assessed is excessive, they should contact the governing authority that sets the millage rate. The Tax Commissioner is an important liaison between the governing authority and the citizens. The Tax Commissioner accomplishes this task by sending timely notices of assessed taxes, diligently collecting the taxes due and providing that revenue collected for the services that are necessary for a community including fire and police, water, schools, hospitals and social services.

There are several bills being considered at the Capitol this session which will have an impact on taxes at the local level. Governor Purdue has proposed legislation to eliminate the State of Georgia’s portion of the ad valorem taxes. Although the savings would be small, this would be of benefit to the citizens of the county.

Another bill of particular interest this year is the proposal offered by House Speaker Richardson. The proposal is termed GREAT which stands for Georgia’s Repeal of Every Ad Valorem Tax. Although the idea of eliminating the ad valorem tax is appealing, there is no way to make up for the lost revenue other than additional sales tax. Of biggest concern to me and other citizens is that the state would collect the sales tax and then determine how the tax would be allocated among the counties. I believe that the decisions about how much money to collect and how it should be allocated is best left at the county level. Speaker Richardson has recently amended his plan to allow cities and counties to retain property taxes but would abolish school property taxes. I am not convinced there are enough safeguards to ensure that our public schools would receive their fair share of tax revenue. Although I applaud the effort of Speaker Richardson to adjust the tax structure, I am not convinced that his current proposal is the best solution.

Should you have any comments or questions, please e-mail or call me.
Thank you,

Tommy N. Smith
7 Fortson Drive
Hampton, Georgia 30228
tnssissy@yahoo.com
770-946-3278